


#KurooStealsPants2K20

by kuidore



Series: #KurooStealsPants2k20 [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguments, Attempted Matchmaking, Awkwardness, Bokuto is as observant as a brick, Complete, Everyone else is just tired of their shit, Friends to Lovers, Kuroo is bad at feelings, M/M, Marijuana, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pining, Recreational Drug Use, Sappy, Slow Build, Strangers to Friends, Swearing, groupchat antics, throwing up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 88,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23068291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuidore/pseuds/kuidore
Summary: Kuroo was a good person. He was a good person, and he didn't deserve this.He could almost hear Kenma’s disbelieving scoff, and he resisted the urge to mentally tell his best friend to shut his damn mouth (as if it would actually do anything). He didn’t need imaginary Kenma’s judgment at the moment. He’d deal with enough of that from real Kenma later."I need to borrow your pants."AKA Kuroo needs pants for a lab, Bokuto has the best (or worst) timing, and Kuroo can't catch a fucking break.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Kozume Kenma, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou, Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Bokuto Koutarou/Original Male Character(s), Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kuroo Tetsurou/Terushima Yuuji, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka (mentioned), Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: #KurooStealsPants2k20 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763821
Comments: 130
Kudos: 661





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is literally just a totally self indulgent idea I had at like midnight, and for some reason its the only thing I've had enough motivation to write in months. Enjoy. Im gonna guess it'll be like, 10 chapters? Can't say for sure though, so that might change. Will try to update once a week.
> 
> Leave comments and Kudos if y'all want <3
> 
> *Come yell at me on Tumblr @kuidore*

Kuroo was a good person. He was a good person, and he didn’t deserve this.

He could almost hear Kenma’s disbelieving scoff, and he resisted the urge to mentally tell his best friend to shut his damn mouth (as if it would actually do anything). He didn’t need imaginary Kenma’s judgment at the moment. He’d deal with enough of that from real Kenma later.

He blamed his past self. What sort of absolute moron made the conscious decision to choose a chemistry lecture for an 8am? What fucking idiot chooses an 8am lecture _at all?_ If time travel ever came to exist within his lifetime, Kuroo was making a vow right here and now to go back and punch past-him in the face for tormenting present-him like this.

Like every other horrible event in his life, the day had started with his alarm not going off when it was supposed to. He’d been woken up twenty minutes before his class started by Kenma, and he had mentally thanked whatever higher power he thought might have existed at that point that his best friend had been woken up by his bladder that morning. At the present, Kuroo was sure the only thing any higher power was doing was cackling at his misery, but that was besides the point.

He’d passed out late studying, which was definitely why he’d set his alarm for 7 in the evening instead of the morning. It wasn’t his fault; it was the fault of his professors for forcing so much homework on their poor students, and Kuroo would stick to that excuse until his deathbed. He’d barely had time to shove his books into his bag before he was sprinting out of his dorm building, still in the damn pair of ripped jeans he’d been wearing the day before. His clothing wouldn’t be an issue; people went to class wearing weird shit all the time, a wrinkled t-shirt and jeans wouldn’t even get him a second glance.

Or, that’s what he’d thought, until he’d nearly knocked over Yaku as he was sprinting through the cold morning air towards the science building, and the moment came when he became absolutely sure the gods were laughing at him.

“What’s with the pants? Dude, we have a lab right now.”

Because of course, he couldn’t have slept in on a normal lecture day. No, he had to set his alarm to the wrong time the night before their first major lab of the semester, a lab in which a stupid pair of ripped black jeans would bar him from even entering the class and get him a zero. Three years he had managed to go without forgetting to dress properly for a lab, and a stupid alarm clock was going to ruin his streak!

So there he was, 12 minutes before his damn lab started, fully aware that he could _not_ afford to miss this big of an assignment this early in the semester. Kuroo knew he didn’t have the time to run back to his dorm building, change, and get back to the science building - honestly, fuck whoever decided to make the damn campus so big - and he was so, so close to just praying his professor wouldn’t notice the holes in the knees of his pants. The campus was almost deserted, save for the lone poor souls also dragging themselves to their 8ams and absolutely hating their lives; Yaku had fucked off immediately after dropping the bombshell on Kuroo, not wanting to risk being late just to comfort his agonized friend. Kuroo legitimately could not see a single escape for him from the situation.

He couldn’t tell if the universe was having some mercy, or if it just wanted another excuse to laugh at him, but after a couple minutes of mentally calculating just how bad it would be if he were to miss the lab, Kuroo’s savior arrived in the form of another student jogging past the science building. More specifically, it arrived in the form of the guy’s track pants. Without a second thought as to how absolutely insane he would look, much too focused on _not_ missing his lab, he sprinted forward and practically jumped in front of the guy.

Almost getting himself run over in the process, Kuroo put his hands on the man’s shoulders to stop his run, earning a shocked look from a pair of bright yellow eyes.

“Uh, dude?” Was the only thing that came out of the other man’s mouth. Kuroo didn’t recognize him, he was sure he’d have remembered if they’d met before, what with the guy’s ridiculously spiked and multicoloured hair (Kuroo got the mental image of a horned owl), and - jesus christ was he hot. _Focus, idiot!_

“I need to borrow your pants.”

Kuroo was sure he seemed absolutely insane; his hair was even more of a mess than usual, he was sure he had bags under his eyes, and he was literally asking a guy to _borrow his track pants_. Maybe he was insane. Kuroo wouldn’t be too surprised.

“Wait, _what_?” It seemed his statement had been enough to catch owl-guy off guard; surprising, considering how weird their interaction had already been up to this point.

“Listen, I have a lab right now for one of my classes, and the professor won’t let me in with ripped jeans. Seriously, I need to borrow your pants. I’ll owe you huge,” The words came out all in one breath, and it was a miracle they were even coherent. There was a beat of silence, before-

“Alright.”

_Well, that was way easier than I thought._

Kuroo couldn’t afford the time to be shocked; instead, he basically ran to the closest washroom, dragging owl-guy by the arm. Kuroo was already undoing his jeans before they’d even gotten in the door. He caught sight of the time on a clock on the wall; 7:54. Six minutes. Kuroo kicked off his running shoes, not even caring about the fact that he was standing in his boxers in the middle of a public university bathroom as he pulled off his jeans, looking to Owl-guy expectantly. The guy didn’t even seem to question it, or consider that there was a high likelihood that he’d have to stand in the bathroom in his boxers until Kuroo’s lab was over - there was no way in hell those thighs were going to fit into Kuroo’s jeans, like seriously, this guy was ripped and _jesus christ could he stop being gay for five fucking seconds, this was a crisis!_

Kuroo tugged on the trackpants hastily, tying the string tight around his waist before tossing his black jeans at Owl-guy. They were a little short, Kuroo was a good few inches taller than Owl-guy, and he really hoped the professor would overlook the inch of skin showing between the bottom of the pants and his socks.

“Seriously, man, I owe you big time.” Was Kuroo’s rushed expression of gratitude before he was sprinting back out of the bathroom. He would have time to feel mortified about embarrassing himself in front of an attractive stranger later; there was no way in hell he was going through all of that just to miss the lab anyways. Kuroo managed to sign in just as 8am hit, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He ignored the odd look he got from Yaku (who was definitely wondering where the hell he’d gotten new pants), simply shooting him a grin and a thumbs up as if to say _don’t worry about it_ before he focused his attention on whatever the hell he was supposed to be doing.

~

A little over two and a half hours later, Kuroo stepped out of the science lab alongside Yaku, fully ready for the day to be over already. By this point, the sheer embarrassment of having run up to a stranger and demanded to borrow their pants had hit him. Yaku’s laughter wasn’t helping.

“You’re telling me you stopped someone running, dragged him to the bathroom, and _stole his pants_?” Yaku’s words were barely understandable through his wheezing laughter, and Kuroo groaned, hand reaching out to whack his shorter friend’s shoulder.

“Shut up! I was out of options!” He retorted, putting a hand over his face. He had gone to the bathroom immediately after the lab had been let out, only to find Owl-guy had disappeared. Understandable; he hadn’t exactly expected him to wait around for hours while Kuroo finished his lab, but he did feel a little guilty for taking his pants like that. Had the guy left in his damn boxers or something? Okay, no, he wasn’t thinking about Owl-guy in his boxers. Yaku was already harassing him about his stupid decision, he didn’t need to learn that the stranger who Kuroo’d stolen the pants from was hot. Kuroo would never hear the end of it.

“And so, like a rational person, your solution was to steal someone else’s pants?” Yaku’s laughter had subsided, but the shit-eating grin was still on his face.

“Why the hell am I friends with you again?” Kuroo grunted, shaking his head, “Also, I did not _steal_ the pants, I _borrowed_ them! I’m gonna give ‘em back. I needa get my favourite jeans back anyways.”

“And do you even know this guy’s name? Or who he is? Or how you’re going to find him and give him back his damn pants?” Yaku taunted, earning himself another whack in the shoulder.

Okay, maybe Yaku had a point; regretfully, that was often the case. Not that Kuroo would ever verbally admit that. All he had to go on was that the guy probably went to this university, and that he was hot. Oh, and the hair. That was a pretty big giveaway.

“That’s what I thought,” Yaku’s tone was smug, having taken Kuroo’s silence as his answer.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m bound to run into the guy at some point!”

“And until then? Are you just going to carry the pants around?” Yaku questioned, earning a mumbled ‘maybe’ from Kuroo. All this did was send him back into a fit of cackles.

“Okay, okay, I get it, I’m an idiot, can we talk about something else now?” Kuroo groaned, knowing that he was never, ever going to live this day down. Part of him wished he had decided to cut his losses and go back to bed as soon as he’d run into Yaku that morning.

“You’ve always been an idiot, this just makes you a guy who steals other people’s pants too,” Yaku grinned, but he obliged to Kuroo’s request and dropped the subject - for the time being, at least.

The conversation turned away from what was definitely within the most embarrassing moments of Kuroo’s life, and towards their lab. The two discussed their results as they waited in line at the on-campus coffee shop. They had just caught the tail end of the morning rush, if the people crowding the tables were any indication, and Kuroo thought he was finally free of the torment. That was, until they made it to the front of the line.

“Kuroo, Yaku! How did your lab go?” Sugawara grinned at them from behind the register, elbows resting on the countertop. No one was behind them in line, and none of the customers seemed to be itching for another drink, so Kuroo was more than happy to engage in conversation with the silver-haired barista.

“Not too bad. Kuroo managed to not set his hair on fire this time, so that’s a plus,” Yaku joked.

“That was _one time_ , two years ago! It’s not my fault the burner was all fucky,” He grumbled, fighting back a shudder at the memory. That first lab in his first year of university had resulted in a _long_ safety lecture and a whole lot of beanies.

“Uh huh, blame the bunsen burner,” Sugawara teased, lips quirked up in an amused smirk.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” He retorted, earning an eye roll from both of his friends that was equal parts amused and exasperated. However, the next topic was enough that Kuroo wished they were still talking about his bangs catching fire.

“How do you like Kuroo’s new pants?” Yaku grinned mischievously, earning an immediate noise of protest from Kuroo. Sugawara arched an eyebrow, glancing at the track pants.

“They don’t seem to fit very well, but I’m guessing that isn’t the reason you’re pointing them out,” Sugawara commented. Sometimes Kuroo wished Suga was a little more dense. It would save them all a lot of trouble.

“They don’t fit very well cause they aren’t his pants,” Yaku commented innocently, as if he wasn’t purposely embarrassing Kuroo for his own pleasure.

“Okay..” Suga seemed a little more confused by that, and Kuroo was seriously debating going without caffeine if it meant he didn’t have to put up with this suffering, “What am I missing here?”

“Kuroo-”

“No, you’re not telling the story, you’ll exaggerate,” Kuroo cut Yaku off immediately. If he was going down, he was going down on his own terms. Sugawara gave him a look that said _get on with it_ , and with a sigh, Kuroo reluctantly continued.

“Essentially, my alarm didn’t go off this morning. I passed out wearing my clothes from yesterday, and since I forgot we had a lab, I didn’t bother to change. So, everything was all fine and I wasn’t going to be late, and then I ran into this fucker, and found out that we had a lab. I had ripped jeans on, and I couldn’t afford to miss the lab, so…” Kuroo puffed out his cheeks, taking a moment to think of how exactly to word the next part of the story so he didn’t sound absolutely insane, “I borrowed someone else’s pants. It’s no big deal!”

“He left out the fact that this ‘someone else’ was a total stranger who was just trying to enjoy his morning run, when Kuroo decided it was a good idea to steal his pants.”

“I didn’t steal them!” Kuroo defended himself again, “I asked if I could borrow them, and he said yes! That’s not stealing.”

Sugawara was silent for a moment, “So you’re telling me you commandeered a random person’s pants because you’re a total mess of a human being?”

“...yes.”

That confirmation was enough to break Suga’s composure, and the silver-haired man had to lean against the counter for support. Kuroo could feel his cheeks heating up, and he covered his face with his hands, stifling an almost pained noise. The commotion by the register was enough to alert Oikawa, who was working the coffee machines, and Kuroo could practically hear him perking up at the sound of his friend’s suffering.

“Why are we making fun of Tetsu-chan this time?” Oikawa called, basically giddy as he joined Suga at the register. Kuroo dropped his hands from his face, simply letting out a huff in response.

“He… He stole some random guy’s pants,” Suga wheezed between bouts of laughter. Oikawa took a moment to process the information, before his face split into a grin. For two people who looked so good, Suga and Oikawa were total demons. The devil had personally come to earth and inhabited the two of them, Kuroo was absolutely sure of it.

“Seriously? I get that you have bad fashion sense, but stealing other people’s clothes is a new low,” Oikawa teased, obviously fighting off his own laughter for the sake of taunting him. Kuroo probably would have preferred the laughter.

“One, I do not have bad fashion sense. Two, bold statement coming from the one who’s constantly wearing Iwaizumi’s clothing,” Kuroo began, only to be cut off.

“Counterpoint, you dress like a 2012 emo kid, the only colours you wear are black, red, and white,” Oikawa began, ignoring Kuroo’s cry of ‘that’s a lie!’ and simply continuing, “And Iwa-chan is my boyfriend and childhood best friend; not some random guy.”

“I needed the pants! I had a lab, and Professor Hardass wasn’t going to just ignore my damn ripped jeans,” Kuroo defended, knowing that in the eyes of his friends the reasoning didn’t matter.

“So your solution was to grab the first person you saw, and take their pants?” Oikawa raised his eyebrows, arms crossed over his chest.

“I asked first,” Kuroo muttered, running a hand through the birds nest that was his hair. It was bad enough when he actually brushed it; it was so much worse when he fell asleep on his books and ran out of the dorm straight after waking up, “Okay, okay, I get it, I stole a guys pants and am never going to live that down, can I get my damn coffee now,”

Kuroo wasn’t all that annoyed that he was being taunted; had the positions been switched, he’d be doing the exact same thing. The situation, in itself, was hilarious; the kind of story that would probably spawn a viral twitter thread or something. It was less so when Kuroo was the one on the receiving end of all the roasting, but it was funny nonetheless.

Besides, he gave it a week before someone else did something stupider, and the pants fiasco was forgotten.

Suga calmed his laughter after a moment, but the grin didn’t leave his face. Oikawa still looked like a kid in a candy store. Again, Kuroo wondered why the hell he was friends with all of them. They were assholes.

“Fine, fine, I’ll get you your coffee,” Suga snickered, “What do you want?”

“Large caramel latte with an extra shot of espresso,” Kuroo answered immediately, earning a raised eyebrow from Suga.

“I get you're embarrassed, but inducing a heart attack doesn’t seem to be the way to go,” The barista mused, but entered it in nonetheless. If Kuroo wanted to spend the rest of the day feeling the effects of four espresso shots, Suga wasn’t going to be the one to stop him. Kuroo just let out a half-assed hum in response.

“Extra-large coffee, black with four sugar,” Yaku answered, and Kuroo’s face scrunched up.

“You’re disgusting,” He commented, the same way he did every time he was subjected to hearing Yaku’s horrible coffee order.

“I second that!” Oikawa commented from his place by the espresso machine, earning them both a glare.

“Shut up, you drink white chocolate mochas,” Yaku gestured to Oikawa, “And everything you drink is a total abomination,” He elbowed Kuroo, earning a huff.

“Whatever. You’re paying. I deserve it for being put through all this torture,” Kuroo said, grinning a bit as Yaku glared at him again.

“I am not paying for your damn coffee, you have your own money,” He grumbled, but pulled out his wallet nonetheless. It was Yaku’s turn to pay anyways, Kuroo didn’t know why he was making a big stink out of it. Kuroo just grinned, grabbing his drink from Oikawa, only to nearly throw the damn latte back at him.

“Seriously?” Kuroo arched an eyebrow, sending Oikawa into a fit of laughter. Suga followed, as did Yaku, when they all caught sight of the little drawing of a pair of pants on the lid, “I hate you all. Oikawa, your drawing sucks.”

“Mean,” Oikawa retorted when he’d finally calmed down, sticking his tongue out at Kuroo before handing Yaku his drink.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. I hope Daichi and Iwaizumi knew what they were getting into, dating a pair of fuckin’ demons like you,”

“Oh, they did,” Suga smiled, much too innocently.

“Mhm, definitely,” Oikawa agreed, “Now go, you’re holding up business,” 

“There’s no one else in line!” Kuroo called, laughing as he and Yaku made their way towards the door.

“Your ugly mug’s gonna scare away potential customers,” Oikawa waved him off, earning a middle finger from Kuroo before they stepped out of the coffee shop.

Kuroo and Yaku went their separate ways a few minutes later. Kuroo was more than ready to go back to his dorm and mope, and Yaku had class. With one last call of ‘don’t forget to give the pants back!’ his friend walked towards the opposite side of campus, turning around too soon to catch the middle finger Kuroo shot in his direction. With a huff, and full awareness that he’d definitely need to deal with Kenma’s judgment over his poor life choices the second he got back to his dorm, Kuroo began walking away from the coffee shop and towards their building.

The second Kuroo got into the apartment, he considered darting into his room to change and avoid Kenma’s questioning over where the hell he’d gotten the new pants. His plan was thwarted immediately; when he walked in the door, Kenma was sitting on the couch, fingers tapping away at his phone.

“Heard you stole someone’s pants,”

“Oh come _on_!” He groaned, faceplanting on the couch after he’d set down his coffee. He wasn’t depressed enough to waste a five dollar drink, even if he hadn’t been the one to pay for it. Kenma simply raised his arms to stop Kuroo from kicking his phone across the room, letting the other’s legs fall over his lap.

“Tooru already texted that stupid groupchat.” Kenma explained, not even looking up from his phone at the wail that was muffled by the couch cushions. Kuroo hadn’t even grabbed his phone that morning before he’d ran out of the dorm; he was sure his phone was being blown up with notifications of their entire damn friend group taking joy in his misery if the constant buzzing of Kenma’s phone was any indication.

“That fucker, I’m going to kill him.” Kuroo whined, moving to flip himself over to lay on his back.

“Stop being dramatic.”

“I’m not being dramatic! This is the worst day of my life,” He leaned his head back against the arm of the couch.

“Worse than-”

“Don’t even start with me right now, I’m not in the right mental state to go over every dumbass thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Kuroo retorted, crossing his arms. He caught sight of Kenma’s lips quirk up into an amused expression. Fucking traitor.

“I mean, either way it’s only a pair of pants. Sure, you likely freaked him out looking like a homeless guy begging for his pants, but obviously not enough if he agreed to give them to you.”

“I didn’t beg anyone for their pants! I asked, and he said yes. Oikawa was probably way too dramatic when he explained it,” He huffed, earning a deadpan look from Kenma.

“Yes, _Tooru_ is the dramatic one in this situation,” He said, tone basically dripping with very unneeded sarcasm, “Either way, you can give the guy his pants back and it’ll be done with.”

“I don't even know where to find him to give the damn pants back.” Kuroo grumbled, running a hand through his hair.

“Well, he probably goes to this school,”

“Thanks, I hadn’t figured that out,” Kuroo quipped, earning a half-hearted glare in return for his sarcasm.

“You’ll run into him eventually, and you can get your pants back and give him his.” Kenma finished. As always, the younger man was the voice of reason even when Kuroo was being a drama queen. He hated it.

“I can still wallow in my own embarrassment over having to ask a hot guy for his pants,”

“It’s your fault anyways,” Kenma retorted, “You should’ve gotten up on time. And you should’ve remembered you had a lab today.”

“Shut up, you can’t be mean to me when I’m in this kind of state.” Kuroo whined, knowing Kenma was right.

“It’s basically my job to be mean to you when you’re being a little bitch.” Kenma delivered the insult in an almost deadpan voice. Kuroo only responded with a snort.

“I am not a little bitch, shut up.” He lightly kicked Kenma’s stomach, earning a pinch on his ankle in return.

“Whatever. You’ll survive, you’ve done much stupider things than stealing someone else’s pants.”

Kuroo didn’t even make an attempt to correct the ‘stealing’ comment; he was absolutely sure that was the only way the incident would be referred to anyways, even if it wasn’t true. After another minute of staring at the ugly ass popcorn ceiling of their dorm, Kuroo dragged himself off the couch with a huff.

“I’m gonna take a shower, do you need to use the bathroom?” He raised an eyebrow, earning a simple head shake in return. Kenma had immersed himself back in some game on his phone. Kuroo just nodded in return, grabbing a towel from his room along with his phone. As expected, he had about fifty notifications, all from the stupid groupchat Oikawa had made solely for the purpose of giving himself a place to rant. All of them were about the pants incident. As expected, he was being made fun of. The only person who seemed to feel even a little bad for him was Iwaizumi, but he seemed more amused than sympathetic. But hey, it was still better than his damn boyfriend. As of the time he got into the bathroom, Oikawa had officially renamed the groupchat from ‘Daichi’s Personal Hell’ (a name courtesy of Kuroo himself) to ‘#KurooStealsPants2k20’. Kuroo made a mental note to replace Oikawa’s hair gel with lube, or something that would be equally hard to remove. Maybe glue.

As if his day wasn’t already going horribly, Kuroo got into the shower to a stream of ice cold water. He’d been too preoccupied with the groupchat to really check the water, and his dramatic yelp was met with a snort from Kenma, loud enough that Kuroo could hear it in the damn bathroom.

“Shut up!” Kuroo retorted, practically cowering away from the stream until it had heated up enough that he wouldn’t have to worry about turning into a popsicle. If he was going to freeze to death, he had to at least make sure his hair looked good.

Kuroo took his time in the shower, spending a good ten minutes just staring at the wall while he zoned out. It was only when Kuroo’s fingers started to wrinkle, his skin an angry red from the hot water, when he finally stepped out. He dried himself off, walking to his bedroom in just a towel as he tossed his shirt (along with those damn track pants) over his desk chair. Kenma had moved to lay across the couch by the time Kuroo emerged from his bedroom - now in his own clothing.

“Move your feet,” Kuroo lightly tapped Kenma’s calve as he moved towards the small living area, sitting down in the empty space once Kenma had pulled up his legs. Immediately, Kenma stretched back out again to put his feet in his lap, and Kuroo rolled his eyes a bit before turning his attention to his phone. At this point, he was just hoping the conversation blowing up his phone had moved away from his catastrophe earlier. Thankfully, it seemed it had; Oikawa and Suga were currently in an argument with Iwaizumi and Daichi, because of course they were. Kuroo wasn’t entirely sure how it had started, and he didn’t really feel the urge to scroll up and find out. All he knew was that it was incredibly stupid, and he was more than happy to chime in.

 **Oink-awa** **_12:07pm_ **

_u cannot seriously be sitting here, in MY groupchat, telling me that 3-in-1 is an acceptable shampoo_

**Oink-awa** **_12:07pm_ **

_i refuse to stand for this kind of disrespect_

**Sugar** **_12:08pm_ **

_I second that. Daichi I’m disappointed in you._

**Tsukki** **_12:08pm_ **

_Can you all shut the fuck up some of us have class_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:08pm_ **

_oof thigh-chi_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:09pm_ **

_moms disappointed look what u’ve done_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:09pm_ **

_TSUKKI FOCUS ON UR STUDIES_

**Iwa the Hedgehog** **_12:09pm_ **

_Since when is this your damn groupchat_

**Thigh-chi** **_12:10pm_ **

_Stop calling me that you fucker._

**Tsukki** **_12:10pm_ **

_….._

**Oink-awa** **_12:10pm_ **

_THATS NOT IMPORTANT IWACHAN WHATS IMPORTANT IS THAT I AM DATING SOMEONE WITH SUCH POOR TASTE_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:10pm_ **

_we all already knew iwa had bad taste_

**Shortstack** **_12:11pm_ **

_He is dating u after all_

**Iwa the Hedgehog** **_12:11pm_ **

_They have a point._

**Oink-awa** **_12:11pm_ **

_FUCKING R U D E._

**Noya-oya-oya** **_12:12pm_ **

_rude but not wrong_

**Baldy** **_12:12pm_ **

_Yaku-soba has a point_

**Shortstack** **_12:13pm_ **

_….stop giving me food nicknames u fucker_

**Baldy** **_12:13pm_ **

_NEVER_

**Baldy** **_12:13pm_ **

_besides my contact name for u is better than kuroos_

**Shortstack** **_12:14pm_ **

_...what is kuroos_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:14pm_ **

_i told u its just yaku_

**Baldy** **_12:14pm_ **

_Shortstack_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:15pm_ **

_TANAKA WHY_

**Shortstack** **_12:16pm_ **

_…. you better fucking run_

**Noya-oya-oya** **_12:17pm_ **

_HA_

Kuroo took that as his cue to dip out and possibly hide in a secure bunker for the rest of his life.

“Our dorm door is locked, right?” He commented, raising an eyebrow at Kenma. From the exasperated look on his face, it seemed the other was also doing his share of catching up on what was being said in the chat.

“I’m not helping you when Yaku comes to murder you,” was Kenma’s only response. Kuroo groaned a bit, muttering something about ‘bad friends’ before he turned his attention back to the chat. Mostly to see if Yaku really was running to his dorm to murder him, or if he was still too preoccupied with the chat.

 **Oink-awa** **_12:19pm_ **

_tetsu’s funeral will be held next week if yaku-chan leaves enough of him to bury_

**Shortstack** **_12:19pm_ **

_I will not._

Kuroo was just about to dip out of the chat again, simply hoping his silence would be enough to make Yaku forget about him entirely (unlikely, but it was possible), when he caught sight of a message from Hinata.

 **Sho-yoooo** **_12:19pm_ **

_WAIT HOLY CRAP WHAT DID I MISS_

**Sugar** **_12:19pm_ **

_Hinata arent u in class_

**Sho-yoooo** **_12:20pm_ **

_...maybe_

**Sho-yooo** **_12:20pm_ **

_BUT THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

**Sho-yooo** **_12:20pm_ **

_KUROO U WERE THE ONE WHO STOLE BOKUTOS PANTS???????????????_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tanaka's (second) betrayal, Bokuroo being competitive idiots, and Kuroo with tattoos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone whose commented/left kudos/bookmarked/subscribed to the story so far! I'm glad y'all are liking it! I know this second update is really fast (dont expect that for the rest of the story lmao) but i had a couple chapters pre-written before I even posted chap 1, so I figured I wasn't gonna make u guys wait a week for a chapter I've already written and edited.

Kuroo raised an eyebrow as he saw the message. Who the hell was Bokuto? He felt like he’d heard Hinata mention the name before. Either way, judging from Hinata’s message, he could kinda infer who this Bokuto guy was. He doubted there were any other incidents of people needing to borrow a random stranger’s pants that morning. Their university was weird, but it wasn’t _that_ weird.

 **Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:20pm_ **

_thats his name?_

**Thigh-chi** **_12:21pm_ **

_Wait, it was Bokuto’s pants you stole?_

**Noya-oya-oya** **_12:21pm_ **

_YOU TOOK BO’S PANTS OH MY GOD_

**Oink-awa** **_12:21pm_ **

_wait i don't know who this guy is i feel left out_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:22pm_ **

_same here_

**Sho-yoooo** **_12:22pm_ **

_HES ON THE VBALL TEAM_

**Ass-ahi** **_12:22pm_ **

_What the absolute hell have I missed I was gone for an hour and a half._

**Sho-yoooo** **_12:22pm_ **

_hes also in a couple of my classes!!! i ran into keiji when he was leaving their dorm this morning, he said he had to bring Bokuto-san pants because some guy needed to borrow them!!_

**Noya-oya-oya** **_12:23pm_ **

_read up its a long story, basically kuroo stole bokuto’s pants_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:23pm_ **

_well at least i don't have to feel guilty about making some random guy walk around campus in his underwear_

The fact that Hinata apparently knew the guy whose pants Kuroo had stolen was a little mortifying, but it saved him all the trouble of having to give the pants back. He could probably just dump ‘em on Hinata and save himself the embarrassment.

“Wait, Bokuto Koutarou?” Kenma spoke aloud, raising an eyebrow.

“I dunno. Why?” Kuroo glanced up from his phone.

“I have a couple classes with his roommate. Keiji, the one Shoyo mentioned.” Kenma shrugged, “I’ve seen them together a couple times. White and black hair, spiked up so it looks like an owl?”

“Yup, that’s the one,” Kuroo groaned a little. His first question was how the hell he didn’t already know the guy. From what he could tell from the messages, Hinata, Noya, Tanaka, Daichi, Suga, and Asahi all already knew the guy; he assumed Tsukishima did too, though the other had completely disappeared from the chat after telling them all to shut up. Plus, Kenma knew his roommate. His second question was how the hell he was supposed to live the incident down, considering most of his friends either knew the guy whose pants he’d stolen, or they at least knew who he was. Kuroo was about to ignore the groupchat, and continue to wallow in his own self pity, when a particularly concerning message from Noya caught his attention.

 **Noya-oya-oya** **_12:25pm_**

_SHOYO U SHOULD ADD HIM_

Now, Kuroo may have been exhausted and running solely off of the half of his latte he had drank already, but even he could put the pieces together as to who ‘him’ was.

 **Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:26pm_ **

_hinata dont u mf dare_

**Baldy** **_has added_ ** **Bok-hoot-o** **_to ‘#KurooStealsPants2K20 (12:26)_ **

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:26pm_ **

_TANAKA WHY ARE U BETRAYING ME SO MUCH TODAY_

Kuroo let out a pained noise, momentarily considering leaving the chat. He didn’t bother; he’d have to face his bad decisions eventually, and he knew he’d just be immediately added back. So he simply accepted his fate, but he was making it known that he was not doing so happily or willingly.

 **Bok-hoot-o** **_12:26pm_ **

_YOOO WHO ARE ALL THESE PPL_

**Sho-yoooo** **_12:27pm_ **

_MY FRIENDS. U KNO HALF OF THEM ALREADY_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_12:27pm_ **

  1. _HEY!!!!!!_



A string of greetings followed, and for a brief moment, Kuroo thought that the whole pants thing wasn’t going to be immediately brought up. Of course, he was wrong.

 **Bok-hoot-o** **_12:29pm_ **

_so wassup with this chat name???????????_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:29pm_ **

_i hate my life and all of u_

**Yaku-soba** **_12:30pm_ **

_We were discussing the pants incident. That^ would be Kuroo, the guy who stole ur pants earlier_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:30pm_ **

_yaku why r u so mean to me_

**Yaku-Soba** **_12:30pm_ **

_Bcuz u fucking deserve it_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_12:31pm_ **

_OH WAIT THAT WAS U??_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:31pm_ **

_yes now that thats been cleared up can we change the subject before i die of embarrassment_

**Oink-awa** **_12:31pm_ **

_NOPE_

**Ken-mom /ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\** **_12:31pm_ **

_U brought this on urself kuro_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:31pm_ **

_oh so NOW U CHIME IN_

**Ken-mom /ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\** **_12:31pm_ **

_yea cause now its interesting_

“You suck,” Kuroo grumbled aloud, earning a snort from Kenma.

 **Bok-hoot-o** **_12:32pm_ **

_BRO ITS NBD U NEEDED PANTS ITS NOT THAT EMBARRASSING_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:32pm_ **

_so ive officially decided owl-guy is now my only friend fuck the rest of y’all_

**Yaku-Soba** **_12:32pm_ **

_‘Y’all’_

**Sho-yoooo** **_12:32pm_ **

_WHAT ABOUT ME?????_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_12:32pm_ **

_HELL YEAH NEW FRIEND_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:33pm_ **

_Hinata this is all ur fault ur the one who mentioned u knew him!!! but i guess i can make an exception for my favourite son_

**Thigh-chi** **_12:33pm_ **

_How many times do we have to go over this Hinata is not your son_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_12:33pm_ **

_YEA HES MINE_

**Thigh-chi** **_12:33pm_ **

_neither of u are fit to be a father_

**Sugar** **_12:34pm_ **

_Yea seriously stop trying to steal our son_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:34pm_ **

_Sugar Mommy and Dad-chi are getting possessive_

**Sugar** **_12:34pm_ **

_………_

**Thigh-chi** **_12:34pm_ **

_…_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_12:35pm_ **

_OI ID BE A GREAT DAD!!!!!_

**Sho-yoooo** **_12:35pm_ **

_why do i have so many dads_

**Thigh-chi** **_12:35pm_ **

_none of us are ur dads hinata_

**Sugar** **_12:35pm_ **

_so ur leaving me to be a single parent?????? Deadbeat dad-chi_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:36pm_ **

_AHAHA_

**Thigh-chi** **_has left ‘#KurooStealsPants2k20’ (12:36)_ **

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_has added_ ** **Thigh-chi** **_to ‘#KurooStealsPants2k20’ (12:36)_ **

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:37pm_ **

_oh hell no if i have to suffer through being chirped so do u_

**Noya-oya-oya** **_has changed_ ** **Thigh-chi** **_’s nickname (12:37)_ **

**Noya-oya-oya** **_has changed_ ** **Sugar** **_’s nickname (12:37)_ **

**Dad-chi** **_12:37_ **

_Have I ever mentioned I hate you?_

**Noya-oya-oya** **_12:37pm_ **

_cmon dont be mad-chi_

**Baldy** **_12:37pm_ **

_just be glad-chi_

**Sugar Momma** **_12:38pm_ **

_y’know im not even mad this is hilarious_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_12:38pm_ **

_hinata why did it take u so long to introduce me to ur friends_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:38pm_ **

_didnt u already know literally everyone outside of me, oikawa, iwaizumi, kenma, and yaku_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_12:38pm_ **

_YEAH BUT THATS STILL A LOT OF PPL I DIDNT KNOW_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_12:38pm_ **

_why did i need to get my pants stolen to meet u ppl_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:38pm_ **

_i didnt fuckign sTEAL THEM_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:38pm_ **

_I BORROWED THEM_

He was immediately met by different variations of ‘you stole them’ in the chat, including an audible comment from Kenma that earned the pudding-haired demon a light whack on the leg.

 **Bok-hoot-o** **_12:40pm_ **

_speaking of the pants i do want those back they were good track pants_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:40pm_ **

_i was gonna give them back anyways i wasnt going to fkin steal em_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:40pm_ **

_i need my jeans back anyways_

**Oink-awa** **_12:40pm_ **

_u say that as if u don’t have a million pairs of black jeans_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:40pm_ **

_shut tf up u own like 6 variations of the ‘i want to believe’ shirt_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_12:41pm_ **

_on campus rec centre in like 10 mins? didnt get to finish my run earlier cause someone stole my pants_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:41pm_ **

_i changed my mind ur not my friend anymore my only friend is hinata_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_12:41pm_ **

_:((((((((((((((_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_12:41pm_ **

_but fine. i need a valid reason to ignore this chat anyways_

**Sugar Momma** **_12:41pm_ **

_u love us._

With that, Kuroo set his phone aside, ignoring the buzzes that followed Suga’s message. He was somewhat over his mortification, though he still wanted to strangle Tanaka for betraying him twice in the span of less than an hour. Maybe he’d manage to _not_ embarrass himself in front of the hot guy this time. Unlikely, but he could dream.

“Don’t embarrass yourself this time,” Kenma spoke when Kuroo moved to stand. He was starting to get worried the younger guy could read his mind or something.

“It wasn’t even that bad! He told me it was nothing to be embarrassed about anyways,” Kuroo grumbled

“It was bad enough that you sat around for ten minutes whining,”

“Why are all my friends so mean to me? I’m a good person!” Kuroo whined, making his way towards his bedroom to change out of his pajamas and grab the trackpants. Kenma just snorted.

Just like the imaginary Kenma, real Kenma was a dick. 

Kuroo shot him a halfhearted glare before he receded into his bedroom. He considered changing into just his regular clothes, but it had been too long since he’d actually gone to the gym. If he showed up in workout clothes, it might give him some motivation to actually stay there.

It had nothing to do with the fact that it would give him an excuse to hang out with Bokuto. Absolutely nothing at all.

Kuroo had to admit, the guy seemed pretty chill. If Bokuto was willing to give a total stranger his pants just so he didn’t fail a lab, he had to be pretty cool. He was also hot as fuck, and Kuroo was real gay. So that was a plus. Kuroo pulled on a pair of track pants - his own, this time - along with his old Nekoma practice shirt. He grabbed his gym bag, tossing a change of clothes, his running shoes, a water bottle, and Bokuto’s track pants into it before stepping out of his bedroom. He pulled on his boots and jacket - he’d already walked around in the cold in just a t-shirt earlier, he was _not_ in the mood to do that again - and bid Kenma goodbye before stepping out. He could only assume Kenma had gotten bored of the chat and had immersed himself in another game on his phone, because all he got was a hum in response.

The campus was a lot more crowded when Kuroo stepped out of his dorm building. The university was big, but so was the student body. The walkways were crowded by people shuffling towards their next class, or towards the cafeteria. Luckily, once Kuroo got towards the gym, the crowds thinned out a bit. He doubted there were a whole lot of people motivated enough to go to the gym at noon on a Friday; he sure as hell wouldn’t be, if he didn’t have a separate reason for going there in the first place.

Kuroo glanced around as he neared the campus’ rec centre. It wasn’t too hard to catch sight of Bokuto; even if the place wasn’t basically deserted, the ridiculous hair would have given him away instantly. For a moment he felt nervous. Was it weird that he showed up in workout gear? Was it going to be awkward? Did Bokuto just expect him to show up and fuck off after they exchanged pants? Would Kuroo have to spend the rest of the day wallowing over another embarrassing encounter? Kuroo shook off the thoughts, raising a hand in greeting when he got a little closer to the doors.

“Yo! Owl-guy!” Kuroo called, unzipping his gym bag and grabbing the track pants as he neared the doors. Bokuto’s head shot up instantly, eyes wide. Again, Kuroo was struck by how much the dude looked like a horned owl. The bright yellow eyes only added to the resemblance. Bokuto’s lips pulled into a grin, and he raised a hand to wave.

“Hey! Kuroo, right?” Bokuto’s grin was basically contagious, and Kuroo could feel his lips pulling into a smile that he couldn’t have stopped even if he’d wanted to.

“The one and only,” He retorted, and tossed the pants in Bokuto’s direction. The other caught them easily, stuffing them in his gym bag and pulling out Kuroo’s jeans.

“Here,” He handed them off to him, and Kuroo took them with a nod of thanks, stuffing them in amongst the clothes in his gym bag.

“I’m guessing you didn’t get away with just wearing ‘em back to your dorm, huh?” Kuroo arched an eyebrow, earning a laugh from Bokuto. His laugh was nice, he noticed immediately. It was warm, and loud, and Kuroo had to put in genuine effort not to laugh as well.

“Nah. Couldn’t fit these things into those tiny ass pants,” Bokuto slapped his thigh, as if Kuroo needed any more encouragement to stare at the guy’s legs. For some godforsaken reason, Bokuto was wearing shorts; he didn’t know how close his dorm was to the gym, but even twenty feet would’ve been too much for Kuroo to bear with exposed legs.

“Tiny? Are you tryna call me skinny?” He retorted, feigning offence. Bokuto momentarily looked like he felt bad, as if he had actually made Kuroo angry, but the smirk was enough to tip him off to the fact that he wasn’t being serious.

“Yeah, basically,” Bokuto retorted, “Look at you! You’re smaller than Hinata,”

“You take that back! I’ll have you know I’m built normally. Not all of us can fuck around and be Captain America,” He scoffed.

“Go big or go home, bro!”

“I didn’t walk all the way here just to go home,” Kuroo’s grin widened a little.

“Then why the hell are we standing out here?” Bokuto was basically bouncing on the balls of his feet. Overexcitable, loud, and with a whole lot of energy. No wonder Hinata was friends with the guy.

The two made their way into the rec centre. Just like the campus, the building was _huge_. It had a full gym, an ice rink, a track, a volleyball/basketball court; Kuroo was also pretty sure there were a couple dance and yoga studios, but he’d never felt too inclined to go and check. Bokuto seemed to know the place like the back of his hand, and Kuroo let him lead the way towards the changerooms so they could dump their stuff in some lockers. Kuroo pulled out his lock, grabbing his water bottle and running shoes out of his bag before stuffing it into one of the empty lockers. Bokuto followed suit, taking the locker beside Kuroo. The two changed their shoes, locking their stuff up before stepping out and into the gym area.

“Hope you can keep up, beanpole,” Bokuto grinned. The owl-like man was trying to rile him up, and Kuroo was a little ashamed to admit that it was working.

“I’ll make you eat your words, Owl-boy,” Was his only response, before he moved to go stretch. Bokuto followed after him, and it took all of Kuroo’s self control (which was not a lot) to stop him from outright staring at the guy’s legs. And his arms. Basically every part of him, clothed or not. Seriously, being that hot should be illegal. If the other started lifting weights, Kuroo would probably have a heart attack. He definitely wasn’t trying to show off his flexibility as he started to stretch, especially once he noticed Bokuto’s eyes flicking in his direction every so often. He just so happened to have to do the splits to stretch out his legs properly.

Okay, maybe he was showing off a little. But no one was around who was going to call him out on it, so he was going to deny it entirely and pretend that made it true.

“Treadmills?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow once the two had finished stretching, and Kuroo nodded with a grin. They made their way to the line of cardio machines, taking the first two empty treadmills and setting them up. Kuroo set his to a fairly quick pace to warm himself up; he may not have played volleyball since his first year of university, but that didn’t mean he was out of shape. He still ran, and he practiced whenever Hinata wasn’t satisfied with the university team’s practice and begged everyone in the groupchat to get together for a game. He may not have been as bulky as Bokuto, but he could hold his own when it came to athletics.

Bokuto glanced at Kuroo’s settings as they began to run, hitting the buttons on his own treadmill to up his own speed. Kuroo raised an eyebrow, lips pulling up into a smirk. So he wanted to compete, eh? Kuroo wasn’t too mature to rise to the challenge.

That’s how they went for the next ten minutes; they continued to up their speeds until they were sprinting, and Kuroo managed to get his treadmill to the highest setting before Bokuto tapped out. The owl-like man nearly tripped and sent himself flying off the treadmill, and that’s when Bokuto finally pulled the little emergency stop magnet. Kuroo stopped his treadmill right after, and it was another few minutes of the two of them breathing heavily with their hands on their knees before either could speak.

“Couldn’t keep up, eh?” Kuroo panted out, face bright red from the physical exertion of basically sprinting a mile in the span of ten minutes. Bokuto flipped him off, taking a second before he could actually respond.

“I just didn’t want to embarrass you!” He defended himself.

“Sure you didn’t,” Kuroo smirked, wiping away his sweat with the collar of his shirt.

“It’s not my fault your legs are weirdly long! You’re also tiny! You’re lighter, so it takes less effort to run fast!” Bokuto rambled the excuses in a breathless voice, earning a full-fledged laugh from Kuroo that had him throwing his head back with a grin.

“Make up all the excuses you want, bro. You lost, end of story,” Kuroo waved him off, finally able to stand straight and breath without too much effort. Bokuto let out an annoyed huff, punching Kuroo in the shoulder.

“Fuck off! Lets go to the weights, then we’ll see who the loser is,” Bokuto demanded, pointing towards the area reserved for free weights and the machines.

“Fine by me,” Kuroo shrugged. One look at Bokuto’s biceps was enough to tell him he didn’t stand a snowball's chance in hell. The dude’s arms were probably bigger around than Kuroo’s head. But still, he wasn’t just going to back down from a challenge! And if watching the other lift weights did truly give him a heart attack, it was a hell of a way to go. At least he’d die a happy man.

“Spot me,” Bokuto jerked his chin towards the bench press, beginning to load an ungodly amount of weight onto the bar. Kuroo didn’t think he’d even be able to lift the damn thing, so he hoped Bokuto didn’t drop it on his neck or something. He’d feel pretty bad about indirectly killing a guy he’d just met. But hey, he didn’t need to be told twice to take an excuse to watch Bokuto lift.

Kuroo raised an eyebrow once Bokuto finished loading up the bar. Holy fuck.

“245 pounds?” The words came out like a damn squawk, as Bokuto laid back on the padded bench. “That’s like, almost a hundred pounds more than I weigh!”

“You think I got these arms by bench pressing light?” Bokuto bragged, flexing one of his arms for emphasis. Kuroo’s mouth was already open in surprise, and he snapped it shut out of fear he might just start to drool. He seriously had to get himself together.

“Whatever, just do your damn reps owl-boy,” Kuroo whacked Bokuto’s arm, refusing to focus on how hard the muscle felt against his hand. Bokuto didn’t need to be told twice; he shot Kuroo another grin, before wrapping his fingers around the bar. Once he started to lift, his expression changed; it was like he was a whole different person than the grinning idiot who Kuroo walked into the gym with. His brows pinched together in a focused expression, beads of sweat forming at his hairline as he did his reps - the only indication that Bokuto was even having to put any effort into lifting the weights. Even as he got up to ten reps, his arms stayed completely stable, breathing surprisingly even. Okay, yeah, this guy had to be some kinda monster.

Bokuto rested the bar back on the stand with a _clang_ , taking a second to rest. Kuroo just watched in silent awe, more than a little impressed when Bokuto finished five damn sets before he sat back up.

“Your turn,” Bokuto grinned, and Kuroo immediately snorted, his awed expression replaced with a smirk.

“You’re absolutely insane. I’d rather not break my arms or my neck, thanks,” He commented, taking the weights off the bar and replacing them with a 50 on each side.

“I wouldn’t let you break your neck!” Bokuto whined, “Have some faith in me!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Kuroo waved him off, settling himself on the padded bench. He made it through three sets of ten before he tapped out, putting the bar back on its hook and sitting up. He definitely was not as composed as Bokuto had been, and he was pretty sure his cheeks were bright red from the exertion.

“No wonder your arms are so skinny!” Bokuto joked, slapping Kuroo on the back. The comment earned him a half-hearted glare, that Bokuto just laughed off.

“Fuck off! I’m not even that skinny,” He grumbled, fighting off a grin. He had to admit, this was pretty fun. He normally went to the gym alone, only occasionally tagging along with a couple friends. When that happened, they normally joked around with each other while they exercised, but it had never lit up Kuroo’s competitive streak like _this_. Something about Bokuto just made him want to work harder, made him want to win. It was a feeling he hadn’t felt this intensely in a long time, not since he’d quit volleyball.

It was a feeling that made Kuroo want to chase another dose, like a junkie desperate for a high.

“Whatever you say,” Bokuto arched an eyebrow, earning himself an elbow to the side when Kuroo stood back up to take the weights off the bar.

“Shut your mouth,” Kuroo rolled his eyes, “Gimme something other than weights, I’ll kick your ass!”

“Fine,” Bokuto agreed, thinking for a second, “Jump height!”

“Oh, you’re going down,” Kuroo grinned. He hadn’t been a middle blocker for nothing, “Running approach or no approach?”

“Both!”

“Fine by me,” Kuroo nodded, “Any chalk anywhere so we can mark it?”

“I’ve got some in my gym bag!” Bokuto didn’t give Kuroo the time to ask why he had chalk in his gym bag, basically sprinting towards the changerooms. Kuroo shook his head a bit, an amused smile pulling at his lips as he made his way towards one of the empty walls. Bokuto was back a minute later, a small container of crushed chalk in his hand.

“Alright, no approach first!” He yelled, pumping a fist in the air. Kuroo might have told him to quiet down, but they were the only two in the gym. It didn’t really matter all that much if Bokuto was a little too loud. Besides, Kuroo didn’t mind the volume.

Kuroo nodded, dipping his fingers in the open container before he stood as close to the wall as he could without whacking his knees on the wall when he jumped. He grinned a bit before jumping, the chalk on his fingers leaving a mark on the black wall.

“Beat that,” He smirked a little, stepping back to admire the mark.

“I will!” Bokuto dipped his own fingers in the chalk, before walking to the wall and getting ready to jump. The chalk mark left by his fingers was just a couple centimetres below Kuroo’s, and he grinned widely. Bokuto pouted, shooting a glare at him.

“Fine, whatever! But I’ll beat you with a running approach!” He declared, as Kuroo dipped his fingers in the chalk again. He ran up to the wall, jumping up and leaving another white mark on the wall above the other two. Bokuto followed after him, taking his approach and jumping, leaving his own mark on the wall -

And immediately face planting into the drywall.

Kuroo didn’t even get a chance to check which mark was higher. He was too busy leaning against one of the nearby machines, howling laughter echoing through the gym. Bokuto let out a wail, rubbing the red mark that was appearing on his forehead.

“Shut up, it’s not funny!” He yelled, but it was only a couple moments later when he descended into his own fit of booming laughter. The two went until they were practically wheezing, stopping for a moment only to resume immediately when Kuroo laughed so hard he snorted like a pig.

By the time they actually managed to stop, Kuroo was on his hands and knees, desperately trying to catch his breath.

“Ha! I won!” It was Bokuto’s victory yell that made him look up, standing up as he glanced at the marks. He grumbled a bit when he saw Bokuto’s mark was almost ten centimetres above his.

“Fine, we each won one,” Kuroo grumbled a bit, grabbing a paper towel and climbing up on one of the step benches to wipe the chalk off the wall.

“A tie. I can deal with that,” Bokuto grinned, watching as Kuroo put the bench back where it was supposed to be, “You ready to go?”

“What, you’re tired already?” Kuroo teased, but he made his way towards the changerooms anyways.

“Yeah! I woke up early for a run, got my pants stolen, and had to wait in a gross university bathroom for an hour before ‘Kaashi brought me pants! It’s been a long day,” Bokuto joked.

“Will you ever let go of the pants thing?” Kuroo groaned, rubbing his face with his hands so he had an excuse to hide his grin.

“Nope!” Bokuto cackled, stepping into the changeroom. They grabbed their things out of the lockers, and Kuroo stripped off his sweaty gym shirt, “Holy shit, you have a tattoo?!”

Kuroo looked up at Bokuto’s exclamation, snorting a bit, “I have a couple of ‘em.” He grinned, taking a sip of his water bottle. The one Bokuto had seen was in the centre of his chest; two watercolour-style koi fish, one white and orange with a black mark on its head, the other black with a white mark. All his others were pretty small, and covered in some way; a tiny stick and poke on his ankle, one behind his left ear, and the word ‘fuck’ in english on the inside of his bottom lip - a bad decision as a result of one too many shots and Oikawa’s horrible influence.

“Shit,” Bokuto breathed out, reaching his hand out to run his fingers over the centre of Kuroo’s chest. He had to force back a blush, the light brush of Bokuto’s calloused fingers enough to make his heartbeat speed up, “Where are the others?” 

Kuroo had to fight back a laugh at the other’s excitement, lifting up his left pant leg to showcase the stick and poke of a little cartoon cat face on his ankle, “That’s one of Kenma’s old drawings; he used to just draw these things everywhere when we were younger, on his homework, on napkins. So in my third year, I got him to do a stick and poke of it. He called me an idiot, but he was flattered,” Kuroo snickered.

“Are those all of ‘em?” Bokuto asked, a little in awe as he looked between the two tattoos.

“Nah, I have this one,” Kuroo tilted his head and pulled his right ear forward to show Bokuto the two small sets of kanji, “Those are my parents’ names. And then I have this one,” He had a bit of a hard time fighting off his grin enough to pull down his bottom lip, and Bokuto burst out laughing.

“Does that say fuck?” He cackled, face coming a little too close to Kuroo’s as he inspected the tattoo.

“Yeah, I got it a couple months ago. We were all out drinking, and Oikawa convinced me to go with him to get a tattoo, then convinced me to let him _choose_ my tattoo. I’m lucky I didn’t get a face tattoo of a dick, if I’m being honest,” He snorted.

“Holy shit, that’s awesome! Man, I want a tattoo,” Bokuto groaned, focusing back on his own gym bag as he pulled off his shirt. _Don’t fucking stare at his abs, don’t fucking stare at his abs,_ Kuroo repeated to himself, but even the little personal mantra didn’t stop him from at least taking a peek at them. Stupid gay thoughts.

“I can take you to the place I got mine done, if you want,” He suggested, “If you figure out what you want, you can call them and have ‘em do you up a sketch.”

“Seriously?” Bokuto grinned, “That’d be awesome!”

Kuroo smiled a bit, nodding as he pulled on his own shirt. The silence barely lasted five seconds, before Bokuto began talking again.

“You have a pretty high jump height,” He commented, pulling on his own shirt before stripping off his pants, “You ever play any sports?”

“Yeah, I played volleyball up until my first year of university. Had to quit cause I didn’t have the time to play on the team anymore,” Kuroo had to keep back a laugh at the way Bokuto immediately perked up at the mention of volleyball.

“Seriously? I play for the university team!”

“Yeah, I know. Hinata mentioned it earlier,” Kuroo commented, kicking off his track pants. For a moment, he swore he felt Bokuto’s gaze on him, but when he turned back to look, the other was busying himself with his absolute disaster of a gym bag.

“We gotta play sometime! We can get everyone together, have a couple real games!” Bokuto’s tone was so happy, Kuroo couldn’t even imagine saying no. Not that he had been planning too, but still.

“Hell yeah! That sounds like fun,” Kuroo pulled on the jeans he’d just gotten back from Bokuto, buttoning them up and tugging on his hoodie. His lips pulled up into a smile when Bokuto let out a victory yell that sounded more like a hoot.  
“What about Monday? We’ve got practice in the morning, I’m sure I can convince Coach to let us use the gym after!” Bokuto grinned as he pulled on his own clothes. Kuroo had to fight back a laugh at the ‘I’m a HOOT’ shirt the other was wearing. Bokuto was really leaning into the whole Owl thing, and Kuroo had to admit, it was pretty cute.

“If we can get everyone on board, that’ll probably work,” Kuroo nodded. He knew there were a couple people who would need some convincing (*coughTsukkiandKenmacough*), but he figured it wouldn’t be too hard. Kenma could be bribed with a new game, and Tsukki’d probably get dragged along by force anyways.

“Hell yeah! This’ll be great!” Bokuto punched at the air again as they tossed their bags over their shoulders, making their way towards the exit. Kuroo snorted softly, pulling his phone out of his gym bag, “Oh, that reminds me!” Bokuto snapped his fingers, earning a raised eyebrow from Kuroo.

“Reminds you of what?” He glanced over at Bokuto, ignoring the hundred or so notifications he’d received from the groupchat. He was almost a little worried about what exactly he’d find in those messages, but he’d deal with that later.

“You should give me your number!” Bokuto grinned excitedly, before his eyes widened a bit, “I-I mean, like, so we can talk! You’re pretty cool, even if you steal other people’s pants.”

For once, Kuroo was gonna let the pants comment slide.

“Y’know we’re in a groupchat together, right? You can always get my number from there,” Kuroo teased, delighting in the way Bokuto huffed in response.

“Well I wanted to ask you for it! Seems a little weird to just grab someone’s number from a groupchat,” He grumbled, but held out his phone to Kuroo anyways. 

_Cute._

Kuroo let out a soft laugh, taking the phone and handing Bokuto his in return. He tapped in his number, adding his contact name as **Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** before handing back the phone. He smiled a bit when he saw Bokuto had added himself under **Brokuto ⊚▿⊚**.

“Clever,” He joked, and Bokuto just laughed.

“Great minds think alike!”

“Since when is your mind considered great?” 

“ _Hey_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *come yell at me on tumblr @kuidore*
> 
> Hope you guys are liking it so far! Leave kudos/comments if u feel like it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asshole cats, procrastination, and random facetime calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm going to be going away next week, and I'll definitely be too hungover/high to post , so I figured I'd put up one more of the pre-written chapters this week. I'm also really glad you guys are liking the story, and I know how sucky it can be to have to wait for updates, so i figured there was no point (esp since I already have them written)
> 
> If there is gonna be an update next week, it'll probably be friday at earliest, just so u guys know

“What’s got you so happy?” Kenma raised an eyebrow when Kuroo stepped into their dorm, still grinning like a kid in a candy store. It had taken him about fifteen minutes longer than normal to get back to the dorm, and it was most definitely not because he had purposely taken the long way while Bokuto was distracted by their conversation.

“Nothin’. Good workout,” He commented, tossing his gym bag in his room before settling himself on the couch. Kenma looked at him for a second before apparently deciding he didn’t want to know, turning his attention back to the television as he unpaused his game.

Kuroo glanced at his phone, the two of them sitting in a comfortable silence. The only sound in the apartment was the noises from Kenma’s game; it seemed whatever argument had been going on in the groupchat had stopped sometime during Kuroo’s workout.

“Did you give Bokuto his pants back?” Kenma broke the silence, eyes still focused on the television.

“Yeah, we worked out for a little while,” He nodded a bit, “He’s cool as hell. The dude can benchpress like, 245 pounds, its insane! He had the bar, plus another 200, and he managed to do fifty damn reps.” Kuroo sounded like he was gushing, and yeah okay, he kind of was. Kenma just raised an eyebrow, eyes flicking towards Kuroo for a moment.

“Seems like you had fun.”

“Yeah, it was awesome,” Kuroo grinned a bit, “Oh, that reminds me! Bokuto wants to get together a game Monday morning, after his university practice.”

“Don’t wake me up when you leave,” was Kenma’s immediate response, an attempt to completely shut down what he knew Kuroo was about to ask.

“Come on, you gotta come! Bo’s roommate’ll probably be there too, he mentioned dragging him along. I’m sure Shoyo will be too.” He whined, bumping their shoulders together, “I’ll get you that new game you want,” Kuroo bribed, and Kenma seemed to consider it. Apparently, his desire to get that new game for free won out over his own laziness.

“Fine. But I’m sitting out the second I get tired.”

Tetsurou would count that as a win. He just smiled, nodding a bit before he settled back against the couch. He pulled out his phone when he heard it buzz, his grin widening a bit when he saw a text from Bokuto.

 **Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_1:47pm_ **

_DUDE WHATS UR SNAPCHAT I HAVE A THING TO SHOW U_

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_1:47pm_ **

_u do know u can send photos thru text_

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_1:47pm_ **

_TOO MUCH EFFORT_

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_1:47pm_ **

_Koolcat01_

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_1:48pm_ **

_…...AHAHA SERIOUSLY_

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_1:48pm_ **

_SHUT UP I MADE IT WHEN I WAS 13_

Kuroo puffed out his cheeks a little, but he couldn’t keep up his pout for more than a minute. A second later he got a notification from snapchat, and he opened the app to accept Bokuto’s friend request. He couldn’t help but snort at the username, immediately sending Bokuto another text.

 **Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_1:49pm_ **

_UR FKIN USERNAME IS ‘OWLSRCOOL’ U ARE IN NO POSITION TO MAKE FUN OF MINE_

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_1:49pm_ **

_ITS BETTER THAN KOOLCAT U FUCKING NERD_

“It definitely is not,” Kuroo muttered, fighting off a grin, “Kenma, is my snapchat name dumb?”

“Yes.”

Wow, okay, no hesitation. Kenma was right, but still. He was pulled out of his pouting by a photo from Bokuto. He opened it to see Bokuto, obviously changed and showered, standing outside of what looked like his dorm building and taking a selfie with a stray cat. The cat did not seem too happy with the attention, and before Kuroo could respond, Bokuto sent a video.

“Kuroo, look! It’s so fucking cute!” Bokuto was practically yelling, and Kuroo snorted, smiling a bit. He ignored Kenma’s raised eyebrow, too focused on Bokuto attempting to pet the cat and promptly getting his hand bit. He laughed, running a hand through his hair. _What a fucking idiot_. His insulting thought was probably a little too fond, but Kuroo didn’t care.

“He’s also an asshole!” Bokuto grumbled, showing his now bleeding finger on the camera. “Oi! Black cat that's an ass! Reminds me of you,” The camera flipped around, showing Bokuto grinning from an angle that would make anyone else look like shit. Kuroo couldn’t find it in himself to be even a little offended. All he could do was send back a picture of his hand in front of his face, flipping Bokuto off, but the gesture lost most of its meaning thanks to the grin on Kuroo’s lips.

_shut the fuck up u havent known me long enough to kno if im an asshole_

Bokuto sent back a picture a minute later of him back in his dorm, throwing up a peace sign with a wide smile.

_didnt take too long to figure out_

Kuroo shook his head a bit, putting his feet up on the coffee table. Kenma shot him a disdainful look that he promptly ignored in favour of snapchatting Bokuto back.

_dont u have anything better to do than harass me/stray cats_

He got his response within seconds; he couldn’t tell if it was because Bokuto wanted to talk to him, or if he was just the kind of person who messaged everyone back immediately. Kuroo got his hopes up that it was a little bit of both. His response was a video of him pouring himself a bowl of cereal.

_NOPE!_

Kuroo just rolled his eyes a little, sending a picture of his legs up on the coffee table in response.

_u could be studying_

So could Kuroo, but that was besides the point. Bokuto sent a photo of him stuffing his face with cereal in response, and Tetsurou couldn’t help but cringe just a little bit. The guy was a messy eater, that was for sure. He refused to focus on it too much, before his stupid gay brain tried to turn _that_ into another endearing trait.

_im busy tho_

Kuroo fought off a laugh, shaking his head a bit. He was a bit of a hypocrite, though. He really did need to finish his notes, but he didn’t exactly want to get up and walk all the way to the library. It was a lot of work. But here he was telling Bokuto _he_ should be the one studying. Whatever, he could always study tomorrow. So instead, he stayed at his place on the couch, simply sending a photo of his face pinched into a doubtful expression in response to Bokuto.

_ur cereal seems to be taking up so much of ur time_

Bokuto responded with a photo of an empty bowl - it had been all of two minutes, how did he manage to eat that quick?

_i need to eat or else ill get skinny like u!!! besides i have practice in like 15 mins so i cant study anyways_

Kuroo rolled his eyes at the skinny comment, flipping Bokuto off again in his response.

_yeah yeah whatever, get to practice u fkin goof_

~

Kuroo spent the next two days lounging around his dorm. It was Sunday night (his only class for the weekend had thankfully been cancelled) and all he’d done was sit around, occasionally text the groupchat, and deal with Bokuto’s constant snapchats and texts. At least, he pretended to have to ‘deal’ with them. He refused to admit that he couldn’t help but grin every time he saw that stupid contact pop up in his notifications, even if Kenma was starting to give him suspicious looks.

He’d stretched himself across the furniture when Kenma had to leave for his classes that afternoon, promising to have dinner done when he got home. All he got was a hum in return, but it was a grateful hum anyhow. During that time he’d sporadically texted a couple friends, watched a random documentary he’d found on netflix, and reminded everyone who was planning to come about the volleyball game Monday morning. Bokuto hadn’t shut up about it since they’d gone to the gym on Friday. Suga had an early shift at the coffee shop, and Iwaizumi had a morning lecture right after volleyball practice, but other than that everyone could make it. Tsukki insisted he wasn’t going, but Kuroo would drag the blonde out of his dorm if he had to. From what Bokuto had told him, all of his friends were able to make it. Kuroo guessed they’d have more than two teams worth of people, but Bokuto assured they’d just switch out players between sets. Tetsurou was completely sure that Kenma would take the chance to tap out after the first set, but even getting him to agree to go at all was a feat in itself. 

Kenma had two lectures, one right after the other, so he probably wouldn’t be back to the dorm until at least 7:00. That gave Kuroo a good three and a half hours to just sit around and do nothing. He didn’t really have many assignments just yet, besides that damn lab Friday morning, and all he really had to do was catch up on his reading. Which he had most definitely been putting off the entire weekend. So much for keeping on top of his studies. So he just stayed in his position on the couch, another weird netflix documentary that was probably about a serial killer (Kuroo wasn’t really paying attention) serving as background noise to his instagram scrolling.

At some point Kuroo must have passed out; he wasn’t sure how long it had been when he was woken up by the sound of his ringtone going off, but the television screen had switched to flipping through random title cards for netflix shows. He pressed the pillow closer to his head with a noise of complaint, but he reluctantly sat up and reached for his phone when the ringtone cut off for a moment, only to start right back up again.

“Jesus christ,” He grumbled, not even bothering to attempt to fix his hair. Whoever the hell was interrupting his nap with a damn facetime call was going to deal with his bedhead whether they liked it or not.

Kuroo squinted a bit as his eyes adjusted to the light in the dorm, seeing Bokuto’s contact name popping up on his screen. Kuroo debated ignoring it, but only for a second. He was pretty sure Bo would just call him right back, and even though it was probably something dumb like Bokuto was just bored, Kuroo couldn’t bring himself to be all that annoyed about it.

_What the hell?_

He’d known the guy for like, three days, and he was already at the point where he wasn’t annoyed by a random facetime call. Kuroo pointedly decided to ignore that realization, shoving it deep into the recesses of his mind as he accepted the call.

“What the hell’re you callin’ me for?” Kuroo grumbled, forcing himself to stand up when he saw the time. It was almost 6:00 already; Kenma would be back in an hour, and he still had to make dinner. He’d be damned if he let his best friend live off nothing but cheap takeout and chips; that’s already what they’d been doing since Friday, and Kuroo was a little sick of it.

“I’m bored!” Came the expected response, as Bokuto’s pouting face popped into view. It looked like he was sitting at his kitchen counter, the view of his dorm a little blurry in the background. “Nice hair.”

“Shut up, I was napping,” Kuroo puffed out his cheeks, fighting off a grin.

“Oh, shit! Did I wake you up? Sorry,” Bokuto momentarily seemed to feel guilty, and Kuroo waved him off as he dug through their fridge. He was still getting used to just how quickly Bokuto’s moods could change from one extreme to the next.

“It’s all good,” He stifled a yawn, pulling out a package of mackerel, “I needed to get up anyways, gotta make dinner before Kenma gets home or he’ll get too into his game and refuse to eat.”

“Jesus, Hinata wasn’t kidding when he said you’re like a mom,” Bokuto teased, earning hima dirty look from Kuroo as he propped his phone up on the counter so he could actually start cooking.  
“I am _not_ like a mom, that’s Yaku and Suga. I’m just the only one who can stop the tiny idiot from living off potato chips, sour candy, and iced tea,” He grumbled, running a hand through his hair in a half-assed attempt to tame it. Then again, Bokuto had seen him Friday morning, so it really didn’t matter what he looked like from this point on. Things could only go up from there.

“You are so! You bitched at me yesterday for not eating breakfast before morning practice,” Bokuto grinned, and Kuroo watched from the corner of his eye as the owl-like man repositioned his phone so he could rest his chin in his hands.

“That’s different,” He retorted, puffing out his cheeks as he began to gut and clean the fish. Bokuto just shook his head a bit.

“You may be a competitive idiot who does stupid shit like steal people’s pants, but at your core, you’re a dork who has to make sure everyone is alright,” Bokuto teased. Alright, okay, it definitely was not endearing that Bokuto had apparently managed to notice that in the span of three days. It was annoying, not cute at all. “Even if you try to pretend you’re cool and aloof, I know the truth!”

“I don’t _pretend_ I’m cool, I am cool!” Kuroo retorted, “I have tattoos, and I have my ears pierced, that immediately makes me cool!”

“Wait, you have your ears pierced? Nevermind! None of that matters, you’re wearing a shirt right now with a chemistry joke on it.”

“Shut up! It’s too early for me to be called out like this!” He whined, tossing the fish waste into a plastic bag before he began to chop up some vegetables, “Besides, the only shirts you own are ones with owl puns on them!”

“Yeah, but I own it! You walk around all smirk-y and shit,” Bokuto teased, “Also, it’s 6pm. Perfect time to call you out on your bullshit,”

“Don’t you have classes to study for or something?” Kuroo grumbled, fighting off a smile.

“He has a point, Bokuto-san,” Kuroo heard an unfamiliar voice pipe up in the background, and he raised an eyebrow. He could only assume this was the roommate he’d heard so much about.

“That Akaashi?” Kuroo asked, and Bokuto’s pout at being ganged up on by both Kuroo and his own roommate disappeared quickly.

“Oh, yeah! I forgot, you two havent actually met yet! ‘Kaashi, cmere!” Bokuto called over his shoulder. Kuroo heard a faint grumble of ‘I’m busy’, but a moment later, another face appeared just behind Bokuto. Kuroo’s first thought was _damn, he’s pretty_. He wasn’t exactly Kuroo’s type per say, but he could appreciate a good-looking guy when he saw one. And Kuroo definitely wouldn’t kick the guy out of bed.

Not that he had any interest in getting Bokuto’s roommate into bed at the moment, but it was a valid point to make.

“Hello.” Akaashi gave a polite nod in greeting, as if he was meeting some sort of business associate instead of his roommate’s friend, “I’m assuming you’re Kuroo-san?”

“The one who stole Bokuto’s pants? Yup,” He grinned, giving a little wave. From what Kuroo had gathered from all of Bokuto’s stories, Akaashi was to him what Kenma was to Kuroo. They had met when Bokuto was in his second year of high school, both of them on some exchange program in America, and had been friends ever since. Akaashi was apparently the one who kept Bokuto from accidentally killing himself or lighting things on fire on a daily basis.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s nice to meet you.” Akaashi nodded, and Kuroo had to fight off the urge to blush. Bokuto talked about him to his roommate? Sure, Kuroo occasionally rambled off to Kenma about Bokuto, but he assumed he was just being weird. The realization that Bokuto did the same made a funny feeling spring up in his chest.

“You better not already be shit talking me to your best friend, asshole,” Kuroo joked, eliciting a whine from Bokuto, “I’ve heard a whole lot about you too, though. All good, I promise,”

“I’m glad. If you don’t mind, I’m going to continue studying. Please try to avoid riling him up too much,” With that, Akaashi disappeared from the screen. Kuroo’s lips pulled up into a wide grin as he raised an eyebrow at Bokuto.

“So. You talk about me to Akaashi?” He teased, and Bokuto dropped his head onto the counter.

“I swear, I wasn’t shit talking you,” Bokuto grumbled a bit, seeming embarrassed about the fact that Akaashi had mentioned it at all. Kuroo couldn’t help but wonder exactly what he’d been saying, but he brushed past it.

“I doubt you could say anything worse than ‘he’s the guy that stole my pants’ anyways, and he already knew that,” Kuroo snickered a little, tossing the raw fish into a frying pan as he started up the rice cooker.

“That’s true,” Bokuto considered for a moment, seemingly getting over his embarrassment quickly.

“Besides, I’ve told Kenma about you, so I guess we’re even.” That fact seemed to cheer Bokuto up even more, a wide smile pulling at his lips.

“I can’t wait to meet all your friends, they seem so cool!” Bokuto basically bounced in his chair, and Kuroo let out a laugh.

“You say that now, but they’re all assholes. At least, the ones you don’t know are,” He commented.

“I mean, you’re an asshole and I still like you!”

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or offended,” Kuroo joked, shaking his head as he focused his attention on the fish. He really didn’t want to burn it; they were getting low on groceries and Kuroo didn’t feel like just eating instant ramen. Bokuto just laughed, resting his chin back in his palm as he watched Kuroo cook.

“Can you teach me how to cook sometime?” He piped up after a minute of just watching Kuroo in silence. He raised an eyebrow, eyes flicking back to his phone for a moment.

“How do you not know how to cook?” He snorted softly, Bokuto puffing out his cheeks and pouting.

“My mom tried to teach me before I went abroad, but I never got the hang of anything other than cereal, toast, and pancakes.” He huffed a little, “And ‘Kaashi has banned me from cooking anything when I’m alone in the dorm.”

“I feel like there’s a story there that I definitely want to hear,” Kuroo teased. He could only imagine Bokuto starting to cook something, getting distracted, and nearly setting his kitchen on fire. Turns out, that had been _exactly_ what happened.

“Okay, so.. First year, I tried to make brownies cause I was bored, but then my sister called me, and I got distracted.” Bokuto’s description was vague at best, and he only continued when Kuroo stared at him in silence, “Alright, alright! I _may_ have gotten batter all over the kitchen, smashed a glass bowl, and accidentally fallen asleep while the brownies were in the oven. They were basically a pile of coal by the time I woke up, and the second I opened the oven it set off the fire alarm,”

Kuroo stared at his phone for a moment, eyebrows raised. After he managed to process the story, he burst out laughing, having to lean against the counter for support.

“Now I’m a little scared to let you in my kitchen, bro,” He wheezed out, hearing the soft thump of Bokuto dropping his head onto the counter again. After a moment, Bokuto’s laughter joined his own.

“I’m better now! I just don’t know how to cook anything more complicated than pasta, and Keiji still won’t let me practice,” Bokuto attempted to fake a pout once their laughter had calmed down, but the grin on his face interfered a little.

“I’ll think about it. But if you set any fires in my kitchen, I expect you to give me the money back for the dorm’s security deposit,” 

“I’ll take that as a yes!” Bokuto punched the air victoriously. Kuroo just shook his head, deciding to change the subject.

“You have a sister?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. He’d never heard Bokuto mention his siblings before, but then again, neither of them had talked all that much about their families. They’d talked about their majors, their volleyball careers, and Bokuto had told him a lot of stories about his time abroad, but the topic of their families had never really come up.

“Oh, yeah! I have three,” Bokuto grinned, “Two older sisters, and one younger. The younger one just started elementary school. The older ones are twins, they’re five years older than I am.”

“Damn, your parents must be pretty patient to deal with four different versions of you,” Kuroo teased, but his smile was soft. Bokuto obviously loved his siblings, and Kuroo thought it was adorable.

“Nah, if we were all the same, I’m sure Mama would’ve pulled her hair out,” Bokuto joked, “I was a goblin as a child. One of my older sisters is like me, Yua. She was apparently even worse than I was. Aoi is pretty quiet, but she can get loud as hell around the family when she’s in the mood to. Aoi’s the other older one, Niko’s the youngest. She’s a literal angel, Mom always jokes that she’s her favourite ‘cause she’s nowhere near as much trouble as the rest of us were,” Bokuto grinned widely.

“I can just imagine you being the typa kid to eat crayons or something,”

“You joke about that, but I actually did,” Bokuto cackled, and Kuroo let out a snort, “You have any siblings?” Kuroo shook his head.

“Nah, I’m an only child. Closest thing I had to a sibling was Kenma,” Kuroo smiled a bit, “All our parents were best friends in highschool. Ended up all moving into the same suburb after university.

“What about your parents?” Bokuto asked, eyes wide in curiosity as he listened to Kuroo talk. He cleared his throat a little. That was the only thing Kuroo was worried about Bokuto asking.  
“Ah, well my moms got together in university. They were both 20 when they decided to do the IVF thing. My Ma’s parents were totally supportive, they paid for the whole thing as a gift to them both. My Mom’s just disowned her, they were still convinced the whole ‘’bi’ thing was a phase, and that she’d eventually end up with a guy.” He scoffed a bit, shaking his head, “They went off and got married abroad in Canada in 2009, since they couldn’t do it here, and they got that ‘proof of partnership’ thing basically as soon as they could,” His smile was still genuine as he talked of his moms, but there was a little bit of nervousness in his words. Bokuto didn’t seem like the kind of person who would be homophobic, but Kuroo had thought that about people in the past only to be proven very wrong, very quickly. But it wasn’t as if he could take back his words, and he wouldn’t want to anyways. Better to find out something like that early on. However, his worries melted when he saw the grin on Bokuto’s face, with no indication of any prejudice in his expression or his next words.

“Holy shit, that's awesome! I mean, not the part where they had to go abroad to get married, but it’s pretty cool that they had you so young! I can’t even imagine having a kid right now,” Bokuto snorted a little.

“Yeah, they’re pretty badass. Ma was going through law school while she was raising me, and Mom was working at a bakery. They still managed to make the time to raise me right,” He grinned, feeling like there was a weight lifted off his chest. He didn’t realize how worried he’d been about Bokuto’s reaction, and he figured he may as well get the _other thing_ out of the way at the same time. “And it meant I didn’t have to worry all that much about coming out of the closet. Whole lot less stressful when your moms are both gay,”   
“Wait, you’re gay?” Bokuto squawked, and Kuroo had to bite back a laugh.

“You really are oblivious, huh?” He joked, “I’m bi, but yeah. I’m surprised you didn’t realize.” Honestly, Kuroo wasn’t _that_ surprised. From what he’d seen, Bokuto could be as observant as a brick wall sometimes. Other times, he came out with stuff like the shit he’d said about Kuroo earlier. He really was completely unpredictable. But still, Kuroo made about a hundred jokes a day about his own sexuality, he figured it was pretty damn obvious.

“Damn. My gaydar is really off base,” Bokuto snorted a bit, running a hand through his hair.

“No shit. Did you think Oikawa was straight too?”

“No! I knew he and Iwaizumi were a thing!” Bokuto pouted, crossing his arms.

“Well I’m glad you at least caught on to that,” He teased, turning down the heat on the mackerel to keep it warm while he cooked the vegetables, “How about your parents? You didn’t tell me about them.”

Bokuto’s pout disappeared almost instantly.

“My Mom is great. She was a stay at home mom for the first year after she had my sisters. She got pregnant about halfway through university, and it was kinda a surprise. But she raised my sisters pretty damn good, then got a job as a nurse once she graduated. She got pregnant again five years later with me. Her and my father split when I was about ten or so. Me and my older sister’s have the same dad, but Niko’s the daughter of my step-dad. She’s four now, she’s the only one of us who was actually planned,” Bokuto grinned a bit talking about his mother.

“I’m sorry about your parents splitting up,” Kuroo commented, a bit of sympathy in his voice, but no pity. Bokuto obviously loved his mom, and he didn’t doubt he loved his step-father too; he didn’t see a reason to pity the other about his parents’ split.

“I got over it a while ago. It’s been ten years, after all. It was hard when I was a kid, but it was definitely for the best,” Bokuto admitted, “They were happy in the beginning, but they wanted different things. My dad wanted the picket fence, stay at home wife, perfect children who all grew up to be doctors or lawyers or CEOs. My mom just wanted a big family, she didn’t care what we all did, so long as we turned out to be good people. She always says she’s happier with my step-dad than she ever was with my biological father, and I can see that.”

“Do you still talk to your father?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow, “If you don’t wanna talk about it, I get it.” He was by no means going to push Bokuto to talk about something if it made him uncomfortable, but Bokuto just waved him off.

“Nah, don’t worry. Like I said, I’ve moved past it all,” Kuroo got the feeling that Bokuto wasn’t quite as over it as he wanted to appear, but if the conversation gave him a safe space to vent about it, Kuroo wasn’t going to mention it, “I talked to him a bit when I was younger, but we grew apart when I got older. He didn’t like the fact that I wanted to go pro with volleyball; he thought it was a waste of time I could be using on my studies. My grades’ve never been all that great, but they were good enough to keep me off athletic probation, and I was trying to do well. Mama got that, she knew I was doing my best and she was proud. My dad just kept insisting I could do better. I haven’t talked to him in about two years or so, we had a pretty big fight when he found out I was majoring in education instead of business and advertising like he wanted me to. He thought I’d never make a good enough living just being a teacher,”

Kuroo hated the expression on Bokuto’s face. It made his stomach twist; this wasn’t just a random mood swing, his relationship with his father was obviously a sensitive topic. Part of Kuroo was touched Bokuto trusted him enough to be this open. All of Kuroo wanted to do anything he could to get rid of the sadness that had etched itself on Bokuto’s face.

“Well, your father’s a fucking moron,” Kuroo commented, possibly a little too aggressively. Bokuto’s eyebrows raised, sadness morphing into surprise, but Tetsurou continued talking before he could be interrupted, “I haven’t seen you play, but you gotta be real good with how much Hinata gushes about your spiking. Fuck what your father thinks; you’ll make a great living off volleyball, and even if you don’t, you’ll have a great life as a teacher. Either way, you’ll be good. You’d be great at anything you wanted to do, you’re just that kinda person.”

For a second, Kuroo thought he’d said something wrong; Bokuto looked like he was about to cry. But when the other’s face split into a wide grin, his worry morphed into relief.

“That means a lot, Kuroo. Thanks,” Bokuto looked like the damn embodiment of the sun or something, grinning like that, and Kuroo had to look away to force down the blush rising to his cheeks.

“Idiot, I’m just being honest.”

“Yeah, but that’s what makes it so great. You’re not saying random shit just to make me feel better, you’re not lying to spare my feelings. You’re being totally honest,” Bokuto laughed, all his earlier sadness seeming to disappear as if it had never been there in the first place. Kuroo’s own lips pulled up into a slight smile.

“Yeah, I get it, I’m an awesome person,” He joked, and just like that, the serious nature of the conversation was gone. Bokuto let out a loud laugh in response.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” He teased, earning an offended look from Kuroo as he shut off the stove.

“You wound me, bro. I might just die of a broken heart,” He joked, clutching at his chest with one hand as the other reached to grab a couple plates from the cabinet. He divided the food between the two, tossing the used pan in the sink to soak.

“I’ll plan a good funeral, I promise,” Bokuto snickered, resting his elbows on the counter.

“You better, otherwise I’ll come back and haunt you for the rest of your life.”

“That doesn’t sound all that bad. Ghost friend!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *come yell at me on tumblr @kuidore*


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Volleyball, Bokuroo being competitive pt 2, and Kuroo actually studying for once

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, change of plans lmao
> 
> i am no longer going on my trip this coming week due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and i also have an additional two weeks off school following the break, so y'all can probably expect quite a few updates. This is kinda a short chapter, but I hope you guys still enjoy it!

Kuroo, as expected, had to practically drag Kenma out of his bed on Monday morning. Kenma had apparently decided that the new game Kuroo had bought him wasn’t enough for him to suffer through howevermany hours of physical exertion their volleyball game turned into. Getting him to actually step foot outside the apartment was an even bigger task.

“I already paid for the game, we made a deal,” Kuroo crossed his arms, glaring at Kenma who was sitting on the couch fucking around on the new game that was apparently “too boring” to warrant the amount of effort that came with volleyball, “I didn’t spend like, 5000 yen on that thing just for you to go back on your word!”

It took another ten minutes of convincing, plus another twenty for Kenma to actually get changed, but eventually they made it out of the dorm. Only for Kenma to try to immediately turn back around when he felt how cold it had gotten overnight. Eventually, Kuroo had to make the executive decision to confiscate Kenma’s psp, phone, and dorm keys, with the assurance he would get the electronics back after he played at least one set, and the keys back if they went for too long. Kuroo wanted Kenma to get out of the dorm, but he wasn’t mean enough to make him sit around until Hinata tired himself out and finally stopped begging them all to play ‘one more set’. They’d all be there for days.

“It’s not healthy for you to sit in the dark all day being a little gremlin,” Kuroo bumped their shoulders together as they walked, earning a not so venomous glare in return.

“I go to classes,” Kenma grumbled. He had stolen Kuroo’s jacket about two seconds into their walk, leaving his poor best friend to freeze so he didn’t have to deal with the minor inconvenience of wind chill.

“Most of your classes are in the computer labs, where you sit around and avoid talking to everyone. You literally only have two lectures,” Tetsurou tutted. As much as Kenma complained now, he knew the other would be fine once they actually got to playing. Kenma might get tired easily, but he did have a genuine love for volleyball; just not for the physical exertion that came with regularly playing full games. A couple practice sets wouldn’t hurt, and as much as Kenma denied it, he didn’t totally hate spending time with their friend group; they were just about the only people Kenma could stand to be around for extended periods of time.

The rest of their walk took place in a comfortable silence, Kuroo’s hands stuffed in the pockets of his trackpants in an attempt to at least retain  _ some _ of his body heat. It didn’t help that he was wearing a tank top, but hey. Just part of the sacrifices he had to make to get Kenma out of the house.

“Kuroo!” Bokuto’s yell echoed through the gym the second he’d opened the door. Kuroo nearly fell backwards as he was basically run over by Bokuto, an arm slung over his shoulder as he was dragged towards the court. He dropped his bag on the sidelines, and watched from the corner of his eye as Kenma did the same, following them towards the rest of their friends.

“Dude, you’re heavy as hell,” He grumbled a bit, fighting off a smile and elbowing Bokuto in the side in an attempt to get the other to stop leaning all his weight against him. Bokuto pouted, but removed his arm from around Kuroo’s shoulders. For a moment, he missed the loss of the other’s arm, but he very quickly ignored the thought. Kenma almost immediately moved to stand beside Bokuto’s roommate, both looking completely and utterly done with their lives as they nodded in greeting. Kuroo couldn’t exactly blame them, but it didn’t mean he felt bad for them. They’d made this choice for themselves.

“Alright, let's play! We have sixteen people, plus two liberos so we can just switch out one person from each team every set!” Bokuto grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Wow, impressive math. How long did it take you to figure that out?” Kuroo teased, letting out a noise of surprise as he was promptly elbowed in the stomach.

“Keiji had to help him figure it out,” Some blond kid with an undercut that Kuroo didn’t recognize piped in, grinning as he watched Bokuto pout at his secret being revealed.

“Shut up! I coulda done it myself anyways,” Bokuto grumbled, before perking up, “Oh, right! This is Terushima,” He gestured to the blond who had just called him out, “You know ‘Kaashi, that’s Kageyama,” He gestured to an angry looking guy who was currently being held back from beating up Hinata by Tanaka, “Yamaguchi,” He gestured to the smiling brunet standing beside Tsukishima, “And that’s Lev!” He jerked his chin towards a silver haired kid who looked like a damn telephone pole, “Guys, this is Kuroo and Kenma!”

“Yeah, we figured, considering you already introduced us to everyone else” Terushima commented, snorting a bit, “Lets hurry it up and play! Who sitting out first?”

“Kenma no you’re not,” Kuroo immediately retorted when Kenma opened his mouth, earning an annoyed huff but no further comment.

“Why don’t we just divide the teams up by positions, then they can choose who sits first?” Akaashi suggested, raising an eyebrow.

“Alright, I’m a captain, I call dibs on Oikawa and Kenma!” Kuroo immediately declared, earning an annoyed groan from a number of people in their friend group. Bokuto’s friends just seemed a little confused.

“I’m honoured, but I think I should be-” Oikawa began, only to be cut off.

“Shut up, you’re not being a captain, and you’re on my team, this isn’t a discussion.”

“Fine, then I guess I’m the other one!” Bokuto grinned before anyone else could snatch up the position, “Guess that means I get Kageyama and ‘Kaashi. I also call dibs on Hinata!”

“That’s bullshit!” Kuroo groaned, “You can’t steal my son from me like that!”

“For the last time, he’s not your son,” Daichi rolled his eyes.

“Fine, whatever, I get Tsukki!”

“No.” Tsukishima responded immediately.

“You wanna deal with Bokuto and Hinata?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow, earning exclamations of ‘what’s that supposed to mean!’ from both of the energetic spikers. Tsukishima seemed to consider it for a moment.

“Fine.” The blond grumbled, deciding apparently that Kuroo was the lesser of two evils. Kuroo smirked, raising an eyebrow at Bokuto.

“Guess that means I get Lev,” Bokuto grinned a bit, faking a disappointed sigh.

“Don’t say that as if it’s a bad thing!” The huge first year whined, moving to stand alongside the rest of Bokuto’s chosen team.

It took about ten minutes, derailed multiple times by a lot of arguing, but eventually they’d managed to figure out the teams. Kuroo got Oikawa, Kenma, Tsukishima, Yaku, Daichi, Asahi, and that Terushima guy, while Bokuto got Hinata, Kageyama, Akaashi, Lev, Yamaguchi, Nishinoya, and Tanaka. The teams each made their way to opposite sides of the court.

“Please tell me you’re not going to do that stupid speech,” Kenma grumbled, and Kuroo let out a huff.

“It was a good speech! But no, that’s a Nekoma thing. Anyways!” He clapped his hands together, grinning, “Oikawa, you’re gonna sit out first set, but you’re gonna come in as a pinch server for Kenma.” He declared. Oikawa pouted at being forced to sit out, but surprisingly, he didn’t whine too much, “Yaku’ll switch Tsukishima out, but I’ll play across the back when I’m in.”

“You’re really talking this captain thing seriously,” Yaku mused, snorting softly.

“Shut up, I haven’t gotten to be a captain since third year, let me take advantage of it!” Kuroo elbowed the libero, “Anyone prefer to start out in the front? Or does anyone wanna serve first?”

Everyone shook their heads, so Kuroo nodded a bit.

“Okay, back line is going to be Kenma, me, then Daichi serving. Front line is going to be Terushima on the left side, Tsukki in the middle, and Asahi on the right. That way we always have either myself, Daichi, or Yaku on the back lines for defense, and we always have at least one tall blocker at the front. We also have both me and Dad-chi when Kenma’s on the back lines, so he won’t have to worry too much about getting the first touch.”

“Stop calling me Dad-chi!”

Kuroo just ignored him, grinning, “Alright, positions people, lets kick some ass!”

“Wow, who knew you could actually be smart,” Tsukishima commented sarcastically, ignoring Kuroo’s whine of ‘Tsukki!’ as he made his way to the front of the court.

~

They continued playing for hours. Slowly, the players began to dwindle, either beginning to get exhausted or having to actually attend their classes. Kenma was the first to leave, unsurprisingly. He’d actually ended up playing four sets of his own accord, instead of the one he had promised Kuroo. But eventually, the setter had made his leave, followed out of the gym by Akaashi. Bokuto whined a bit when Keiji deemed himself ready to leave after about an hour and a half, but Kuroo just grinned a bit when he walked out beside Kenma. He had offered to walk Kenma back to the dorm, but the other had shook his head, commenting that Akaashi had invited him to the library to study.

He watched Kenma go with a slight smile, rubbing the arm his best friend had promptly punched when Kuroo had made a comment about his best friend and Akaashi getting pretty close. For someone so small and adverse to physical activity, the pudding-head could pack a punch.

Daichi was the next to go, followed by Tanaka and Nishinoya (who had to literally be dragged out of the gym by Asahi to actually go to their classes). Players continued to dip out of the gym until they were left with a four on four; Bokuto, Kageyama, Lev, and Hinata on one side, Kuroo, Oikawa, Yaku, and Tsukishima on the other. Yamaguchi was sitting on the sidelines, claiming he was too tired to play but seeming more than happy to watch. Kuroo had found out pretty quick that he and Tsukishima were good friends, and had promptly become offended that none of them had been introduced yet. Kei had just rolled his eyes, muttering some half-assed excuse, but Kuroo caught sight of a blush creeping up the back of his neck. Kuroo couldn’t help but think Tsukishima and freckles might be a little more than ‘good friends’.

Kuroo had never actually seen Bokuto play before now; the first time he’d gone up to block against him, his arms were nearly blown away by the spike. For the past few hours, it seemed the two were solely trying to outdo each other, much to the annoyance (and amusement) of their friends. They both constantly yelled taunts from their places on the court, each one taking every small victory as an opportunity to rub it in the other’s face.

It was the most fun Kuroo’d had in a long time, and he found himself chasing the rush of competition even more so than that day at the gym.

It wasn’t until Hinata threw up on the floor that they were finally convinced it was a good idea to call it a day. They’d been in there since eleven that morning, and when Kuroo checked the time on his phone as he downed his fifth water bottle, he realized they’d been playing for almost four hours. Sure, there’d been more than a couple times they’d stopped so no one passed out, but still. Either way, he was going to feel like absolute shit tomorrow morning, but he was sure it was worth it.

They spent almost another hour cleaning up the gym (most of it spent wiping throw up off the floor while Hinata furiously apologized), before they all went their separate ways. As Kuroo grabbed his bag, ready to go back to the dorm and maybe actually get some studying done, Bokuto ran up beside him and clapped him on the back.

“Dude, are you busy on Friday?” Bokuto grinned, looking way too excited. Kuroo suspected whatever it was he was going to be asked to take part in, it was either stupid or illegal. Which basically meant he was all in.

“No, I have an 8am lecture, but then I’m free. Why?” Granted, he was a little suspicious as to why Bokuto was asking at all. Normally making plans with Bokuto didn’t involve any planning; just a last minute text of  _ YO BRO U BUSY??? _

“Terushima’s frat is gonna throw a party, figured I’d see if you wanna come,” Bokuto smiled widely, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Kuroo as they made their way out of the gym.

“Of course he’s in a frat,” Kuroo commented, chuckling a bit as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, “Sure, it sounds like fun. Been a while since I’ve been to an actual party.” 

Most of the time, their ‘parties’ involved their entire friend group piled into either a shitty dive bar or someone’s dorm, sitting around being drunk and stupid. It definitely was a lot better than stuffing himself into a room with sweaty, drunk first years desperate to explore their newfound freedom, but he supposed the occasional frat party couldn't hurt.

“Hell yeah! This is gonna be great,” Bokuto grinned, already too excited for a party that was still four days away. Kuroo just shook his head a little. 

“If you blackout, I’m taking videos,” He warned, and Bokuto elbowed him in the side.

“That’s mean! Besides, I can hold my damn alcohol,” Koutarou puffed out his chest, and Kuroo could only laugh.

“Sure you can, big guy.”

“It’s too early for you to be being such a dick,” Bokuto grumbled, leaning into Kuroo’s side but his grin sorta interfered with his whole ‘pouty’ act.

“It’s three in the afternoon, try again.” Kuroo was only met by another overdramatic whine, as Bokuto leaned against him with a fake huff. He tried to ignore the way his stomach twisted a bit when Bokuto basically draped himself over him, “You need to go take a damn shower, you smell,” Kuroo grumbled, attempting to shove him off.

“You smell worse, shithead!” Bokuto retorted, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling Kuroo down into a headlock. He couldn’t even be that embarrassed, letting out a loud laugh as he attempted to shove Bokuto off of him.

“Quit choking me, shithead, you’re gonna break my neck or something,” Kuroo cackled a bit. They stood there struggling for a few minutes, probably looking like total idiots, but he didn’t even care. Tetsurou finally managed to get out of the headlock, punching Bokuto in the shoulder, “Asshole.”

“Bitch,” Bokuto retorted, face flushed pink from the cold air. Kuroo was sure his face was a bright pink too, but he was almost entirely sure it was from something entirely unrelated to the cold.

“Don’t you have a class in like, twenty minutes or something?” Kuroo grumbled, attempting to fix his hair. His grumbling turned into laughter when Bokuto’s eyes widened in realization.

“Fuck!” He cursed, “Okay, yeah, but this isn’t over!” He declared, before sprinting off. Kuroo just grinned, using a hand to stifle his laughter as he watched Bokuto nearly barrel over a group of students in his rush to get back to his dorm. Kuroo earned a middle finger in response, before Bokuto finally disappeared around the corner of one of the art buildings.

~

Kuroo finally managed to force himself to sit down at his desk and do his damn work once he got back to his dorm. His notes were practically yelling at him to be finished, and he knew if he didn’t do it all now, he would be fucked once he got even  _ more _ work piled on by his professors. So he took a quick shower before plugging in his headphones, pouring over his textbook like his life depended on it. His grades sure did, anyways.

Kuroo didn’t know how much time had passed, and he refused to check his phone. At some point Kenma popped his head into his room, letting him know he was back from the library. Kuroo just let out a noise of acknowledgement in response, and over his music he could just barely hear the sound of Kenma’s new game starting up in the living room. It took all of his self control not to walk out and plop himself on the couch beside Kenma to grill him about Akaashi; he’d never seen Kenma  _ willingly _ go to the overcrowded on-campus library, so either his best friend had been replaced with a clone, or he had really wanted to spend time with Akaashi. Kuroo could always bug Kenma about his possible crush later; right now, Kuroo had to finish this chapter.

By the time he stepped out of his bedroom, the sun had begun to set. For a moment, Kuroo thought there was no way he’d been studying for that long, before checking the time on his phone. It was almost 6:30, not as late as he’d thought (the early sunsets were starting to fuck with him) but he’d still been holed up in his room and ignoring his phone for a good three hours. He was a little proud of himself; aside from studying for exams, Kuroo was pretty sure that was the longest he’d spent on his schoolwork without getting distracted by anything.

“That took longer than I expected,” Kenma commented when he heard Kuroo’s door open. He raised an eyebrow, making his way to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

“What did?” He spoke as he cracked open the bottle, downing about half of it. His whole goal of ‘not getting distracted’ meant he refused to get up for a drink, knowing all it would take was a couple minutes of doing nothing before he entirely gave up on his notes altogether.

“You deciding to give up on your work,”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I didn’t  _ give up _ , I finished my notes for this chapter!” Kuroo grumbled, moving to take the seat beside Kenma and grab the second controller. At some point Kenma had switched to their wii to play Mario Kart, and Kuroo getting his ass kicked by his best friend in a racing game sounded like a good way to entertain his now-fried brain. “Start a new race, I wanna play.”

Kenma rolled his eyes a bit, bug obliged, “Wow, I’m proud,” He commented, a lot less sarcastic than normal, “How long did you guys end up going after Keiji and I left?” Kuroo smirked a bit at the first name basis thing, but didn’t comment on it just yet.

“We went for another two hours. Had to spend an hour cleaning the gym though; we only stopped because Hinata threw up,” He explained, focusing his attention on the game. Kenma let out a slight snort, muttering something along the lines of ‘Of course’ before they lapsed into silence.

It was another few races before Kuroo decided it was time to tease Kenma at least a little about Akaashi.

“So, you and  _ Keiji _ were at the library for a while, huh?” Kuroo grinned, and he already knew the tone of his voice was enough to tip Kenma off, because the only immediate response he got was an eyeroll.

“We ended up getting food too, that’s why I was back so late,” Kenma defended himself, not missing the way Kuroo’s smile only seemed to widen.

“So someone else can actually convince you to eat? Wow, I’m impressed.” He joked, but a part of his statement was true. He normally had to drag Kenma away from his games to eat; yet here Akaashi was, managing to both drag Kenma to the library  _ and _ get him a proper meal. The guy had to be some sort of miracle worker, the fact that he managed to keep Bokuto in check already made that clear, but it was nice to know his supernatural mothering skills even extended to Kenma.

“Shut up,” Kenma half-heartedly kicked him in the ankle, but Kuroo caught sight of the slight pink tint to his best friend’s cheeks.

“Did you actually talk to him on your date, or did you sit and play on your game the whole time?” He raised an eyebrow.

“It was not a date,” Kenma argued, huffing softly, “Besides, we came back here so I could get my books and get changed, and I forgot my PSP in my gym bag. I couldn’t play games.”

Kuroo knew that was an absolute lie; Kenma  _ never _ forgot his PSP, and even if he had, the kid had more than enough games on his phone to keep him occupied. The fact that Kenma had willingly spent a good few hours not playing video games was a little insane, but it made Kuroo smile nonetheless.

“If you didn’t play any games the whole time, that definitely makes it a date. You don’t even do that for  _ me, _ ” Kuroo teased, bumping their shoulders together. He only continued when he was sure Kenma wouldn’t give him a verbal response, “Either way, it’s good you’re comfortable around him. And if it was a date, or if it turns into something, I’m happy for you.”

“No you’re not, you’d get jealous that I had other friends,” Kenma retorted, but Kuroo caught a small smile starting to form on his face.

“Maybe a little. But I know I’ll always be your number one, so I don’t got anything to worry about.” Kuroo grinned, “Seriously, though, don’t be a pussy. If you do like him, and you think he likes you, you should go for it.” He swore he heard Kenma mutter something along the lines of ‘you’re one to talk’, but he ignored it, “You and Shrimpy didn’t work out, but you guys are still good friends. So at least you know you guys can stay close even if a relationship isn’t the right choice.”

“For someone so single, you’re not too bad at the whole advice thing.”

“Wow, really going for the low blow here, Ken. I’m trying to be a good friend,” He whined, but he couldn’t keep up the act as Kenma huffed out a laugh, “Besides, my love life isn’t that bad.”

That was a lie, it was very bad, and Kenma knew that better than anyone. The closest thing Kuroo had ever had to a relationship was a three month spree of hooking up with a bisexual guy in his first year, only to catch feelings and subsequently learn the guy was not only in the closet, but had a long term girlfriend. Took Kuroo a long time to get over his guilt for that whole thing. Since then, the most he’d had was a couple one night stands and the occasional blind date that never went well.   
“When was the last time you went on a real date that you didn’t fuck up?” Kenma raised an eyebrow, continuing before Kuroo could even reply, “And no, ordering takeout at a stranger’s house and having a one night stand doesn’t count as a date.”

“It should,” Kuroo grumbled, leaning back against the couch with a huff and a couple muttered swear words when his character fell off the edge of the track.  _ Stupid rainbow road.  _ “Besides, yours wasn’t better than mine before this Akaashi thing.”

“There is no Akaashi thing,” Kenma responded immediately, and Kuroo just let out a disbelieving hum, “Shut up.”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“You were thinking something stupid, that’s basically the same,” Kenma muttered, shooting Kuroo a glare when he put his feet up on the coffee table.

“How do you know that? You can’t read my mind,” Sometimes he was doubtful, but no, Kuroo was almost entirely sure Kenma was not telepathic. Otherwise, he’d definitely be getting at least some shit for all the thoughts he'd had about Bokuto.

“You’re always thinking something stupid, I don’t need to read your mind.” He retorted. Kuroo opened his mouth to protest, before closing it again. Okay yeah, Kenma was kinda right. But that didn’t mean Kuroo had to validate his opinion. Instead, he just let out an indignant huff, focusing his attention back on the race.

Kuroo played a few more races before deciding that eating dinner sounded like a pretty good idea. He grabbed the leftovers from last night's dinner that were still sitting in the fridge, making a mental note to go grocery shopping over the next couple days. He finished his food, staying up for a couple hours curled up on the couch beside Kenma as he jumped between scrolling through his phone and watching the other practically fly through his new game. By the time he went to bed, it was nearly midnight; fairly early, for him at least. But Kuroo had a long day of lectures tomorrow, and he figured that it would be the best day to get most of their errands done anyways. So he finally bid Kenma goodnight, washing his used dishes in the sink before he headed to his room, the faint sounds of Kenma’s game eventually lulling him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *come yell at me on tumblr @kuidore*


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelations, Kuroo's Gay Panic, and Facetime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like this chapter, its a little longer than normal, but I had fun with it. Kudos and comments are always appreciated, and so is constructive criticism! If there's something you guys wanna see or think could be better abt the story, the comments or my tumblr are great places to tell me!!

As expected, Kuroo felt like absolute shit the next morning. The ache had already begun to settle into his muscles the day before, but his studying had taken enough of his focus that he’d been able to ignore it. But when his alarm went off an hour before his first class on Tuesday morning, the deep ache in his legs was almost enough to make him fall out of bed when he tried to stand.

Kuroo, for what felt like the hundredth time that week, debated just how much it would hurt him if he skipped his classes. He was really close to doing it, too, consequences be damned, but his backup alarm five minutes later forced him to get out of bed with an annoyed groan. Thankfully, he didn’t actually faceplant on the floor. The scalding shower water managed to wake him up a little bit, but he knew he’d need a cup of coffee to stay awake through his first lecture.

There was only so much Kuroo could hear about spectroscopy before he started to get bored.

He was reluctant to drag himself out of the shower, but he knew he had to cut it off at the twenty minute mark if he wanted to actually grab himself a coffee and something for breakfast. He shut off the water after pushing it as far as he possibly could, wrapping a towel around his waist and grabbing his clothes off the bathroom floor before he made his way back into his bedroom. Kuroo could already tell it was a sweatpants and hoodie sort of day, so once he’d dried himself off enough that he didn’t soak his clothes, that’s exactly what he put on. He also pulled a beanie over his half-dried hair, knowing that even if he tried to brush it out while it was damp, his hair would be a half-wavy, rooster-looking mess once it dried. Not that it wouldn’t be anyways, but it would definitely be worse, and he wasn’t in the mood (nor did he have the time) to blowdry and half-tame it.

He was out of the dorm ten minutes later, still having to fight off a yawn every other minute as he walked towards the coffee shop. He still had a half-hour until his class, and the coffee shop was a two minute walk from the science building, so he knew he had more than enough time. It was late enough that he had managed to dodge the early morning rush, and it wasn’t quite time for the lunch rush yet. The one thing he was thankful for, when it came to his class times, was that he always just managed to miss the rushes. Unfortunately, that also meant it was way too easy to get lost in conversation when one of his friends was working the register, leaving him to basically run to class to be there on time.

Thankfully today was just a regular lecture; he wouldn’t have to worry about being kicked out if he didn’t show up exactly at 9:30.

“Don’t you look cheery today,” Oikawa grinned when he walked up to the counter, earning a half-assed glare in return.

“Oh shut up, not all of us can act like we injected espresso straight into our damn veins this early in the morning,” He grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets to pull out his wallet, “Large caramel latte with two extra shots of espresso,”

“Grouchy,” Oikawa tutted, shaking his head as he rung in the order, “Be careful, or I might just spit in your coffee,”

“Do it, pussy. You wouldn’t,” Kuroo retorted, a slight smile pulling at his lips.

“Hm, you’re right. Unlike you, I’m a nice person,”

“Hey, I’m always kind!” Kuroo rolled his eyes as he tapped his debit card on the machine, ignoring Oikawa’s raised eyebrow and disbelieving look.

“Sure, whatever you say, Tetsu,” Oikawa grinned, “Anyone you know who can verify that?”

Kuroo had to think for a moment, going over his options; all of his friends were definitely out of the question, outside of maybe Iwaizumi, Hinata, and Asahi, but they were still pretty iffy.

“Bo would defend me,” He retorted, after deducing that Bokuto was definitely his best bet. Sure, he’d seemed to have already figured out that Kuroo was an asshole, but still. He was a better option than all his other friends, who had known he was an asshole for years.

“Oh, I’m _sure_ Bokuto would defend you no matter what,” Oikawa’s grin widened a bit, and Kuroo raised an eyebrow as he grabbed his drink.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He narrowed his eyes, having known Tooru long enough to detect that there was an underlying message to his words. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite figure out what exactly that message was.

“Oh, please. You’re worse than Iwa-chan was,” Oikawa tutted, crossing his arms.

“I still don’t get it.”

Oikawa just let out a huff, waving him off, “Nothing, nevermind. We all agreed to not meddle, so I’m sticking to that. Iwa-chan’ll kick my ass if I get involved..”

“Involved in what?” Kuroo was still completely dumbfounded. What had ‘they’ agreed not to meddle in? And who constituted ‘they’?

“Your feelings for Bokuto, _obviously_ ,” Tooru huffed a bit, as if Kuroo was stupid. And yeah, maybe he was, but he didn’t feel like he deserved that label in this scenario.

“My _feelings_ for Bokuto?” Kuroo asked incredulously, “What’s that supposed to mean?” He repeated, still a little surprised by the declaration. He didn’t have _feelings_ for Bokuto. Yeah, he was cool, and pretty hot, and overall he was a great guy. But he’d known him for less than a week!

“Oh my god, nevermind. Go to class, you oblivious moron,” Oikawa waved him off, and before Kuroo could start to grill him on what the hell he was talking about, a couple customers walked through the door and Oikawa was back to his cheery work persona. So with a slight huff, he walked out of the coffee shop, cup burning his hand as he mulled over Oikawa’s words in his mind.

The words were still bouncing around his head as he sat down in the huge lecture hall. His hand was working on autopilot, copying down the notes as the professor flipped through the slides, but a part of his mind was focused elsewhere.

Feelings for Bokuto? Okay, yeah, Kuroo would admit that they had gotten close pretty fast. They texted, both in and outside the groupchat, almost constantly, Kuroo was constantly getting snapchats and pictures from Bokuto of the most random shit that he’d just wanted to show him. Kuroo would be more than happy to hang out with Bokuto every day. But he wouldn’t say they’d gotten any closer than he was with his other friends. They’d only known each other for five days, and Kuroo had never been the type to catch feelings for anyone that fast. Even his last “relationship”, it’d been a good few months before he realized his own feelings, and that had been a sexual relationship, not just a friendship.

But for a moment, Kuroo pushed away his defensiveness. He forced himself to look past his own excuses, knowing that wouldn’t do him any good if he was seriously trying to figure out what the hell Oikawa was talking about.

Bokuto was cool as hell, Kuroo could admit that easily. He was hot, too; a good couple inches shorter than him, but he more than made up for it with his ridiculous amount of muscle. And something about Bokuto made him want to strive for a goal, whatever the hell that goal was. Whether it be a higher jump height, a faster run, a better block. Whatever it was, adding Bokuto into the equation made him want - _need_ \- to be better.

His smile was as contagious as a goddamn yawn. It didn’t matter why the hell Bokuto was smiling; just the fact that he _was_ smiling was enough to make Kuroo’s lips pull up into a wide grin. His laugh was worse; it was warm, and loud, and it made Kuroo’s chest clench up with a weird feeling that he couldn’t even begin to consider as bad. The same feeling hit him every time Bokuto bumped shoulders with him, or slung an arm around his shoulder while he was telling a joke. And every single time Bokuto got into one of his moods - whether it was over his father, or over something as stupid as being out of lucky charms when he was craving them - Kuroo felt a deep need to do anything he could to pull him out of it.

And somehow, every single quality that Kuroo would find annoying or weird with any other person suddenly became endearing when it was Bokuto. Somehow always managing to get some kind of food on the corner of his mouth when he was eating, wolfing down his food like it was going to run away, the constant snapchats and texts without reason, the loud yelling, the over-excitable personality, the mood swings; all of it was just endearing, solely because they were a part of what made Bokuto who he was.

As much as Kuroo absolutely hated to admit it, Oikawa might have been a little bit right.

_I’m so fucked_

~

Kuroo had originally planned to actually get some things done today; he was gonna go grocery shopping, do his laundry, go through his notes.

But no. Oikawa motherfucking Tooru just _had_ to force him to have a sudden insight into his feelings, shoving him straight over the edge and into the abyss of his mind where he’d been intent on burying all his possibly romantic thoughts about Bokuto. He killed any time he had between his classes by wandering around lost in thought like the idiot he was, because Kuroo knew the second he got back to his dorm he’d want to just faceplant into his couch and not move for hours. When he finally got back to his dorm at around four in the afternoon, Kenma was still in his classes, which meant Kuroo had about an hour to mope and wrestle with his own thoughts before he was subjected to the endless judgement of his best friend.

He didn’t even bother to change his clothes. He walked into his dorm, took off his shoes, dropped his book bag on the floor, and immediately laid face down on the couch. His frustrated groan was muffled by the cushions, and Kuroo didn’t even care that he was being overdramatic. Five fucking days. It had taken him five fucking days to catch feelings for this random, hot guy whose opinion of him was immediately tainted by the fact that Kuroo had _stolen his fucking pants_.

On top of it all, Kuroo didn’t even know if Bokuto was gay. They’d never talked about previous relationships; it had never been brought up, and it wasn’t as if there was a sneaky way to come out and ask if someone was gay. Kuroo had come out to Bokuto on his own; if he was gay, wouldn’t he have taken that chance to come out to Kuroo as well once he knew Kuroo definitely wasn’t going to judge him about it? That probably meant he was straight, and Kuroo was even more fucked than before. 

His fault, this entire thing was his own stupid, gay fault, and he partially hated himself for it. On the other hand, if Bokuto _wasn’t_ straight, then maybe he stood a chance. Or, he could make a move and end up ruining a damn good friendship because Bokuto was _probably_ straight.

Kuroo really didn’t want to risk that. He’d much rather continue to blatantly ignore his feelings until they eventually went away, because that was definitely how successful problem-solving worked. The only thing that somewhat comforted Kuroo was that, more often than not, Bokuto was about as observant as a brick. Sure, he had some random moments of clarity, but there were also times when he walked into walls because he zoned out in the middle of a conversation. Kuroo was a good liar (Kenma would argue otherwise, but lying to Kenma and lying to normal people were two entirely different situations), and he’d gotten _real_ good at hiding his feelings. Middle schoolers definitely weren’t the most accepting of sexualities other than straight, and Kuroo had managed to hide his goddamn attraction for guys from everyone but his friends until his third damn year of high school. He could hide a stupid crush that would probably go away in a week anyways.

Kuroo was just gonna go forward counting on that; it was a dumb crush, nothing else, and he would get over it fairly quick. Until then, he could handle ignoring his feelings; he’d say he’d done pretty good this far, considering Bokuto hadn’t seemed to notice. Apparently the rest of his friends had, but that was besides the point. Bokuto _hadn’t_ , and that was the important thing. He could handle some stupid jokes about his dumb crush. What he wasn’t ready to handle was the inevitable ruin that would come to one of his best friendships if his feelings got exposed.

That didn’t mean Kuroo couldn’t still mope about his realization, though. By the time Kenma got home, he had changed into his pajamas and shifted to sitting on the couch huddled in his blanket, pouting to himself as he scrolled through his phone. He had spent about five minutes overthinking how to respond to a stupid snapchat Bokuto had sent him of his box of takeout; he was (for some reason) worried that once he’d respond, Bokuto would somehow immediately know of his realization and call him out on it. Once Kuroo had gotten over that completely insane thought process, he just sent back a picture of him grinning, blanket wrapped around his head and body like he was in some sort of cocoon. 

“Oh god, what the hell are you moping about now?” Kenma grumbled, letting out a slight sigh as he dropped his bag on the ground and stared at Kuroo, wrapped in a blanket and watching some shitty american romcom.

“Who says I’m moping?” Kuroo grumbled, feeling Kenma’s weight settle on the couch beside him.

“You’re watching a Nicholas Sparks movie in your pajamas and you’re wrapped in a blanket like it’s a damn cocoon. You’re also pouting.” Kenma deadpanned, shaking his head as he pulled out his phone. Kuroo just let out a huff in response, letting a couple beats of silence pass by before he started to talk.

“Fucking Oikawa,” was Kuroo’s only explanation, and Kenma arched an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue, “He accused me of having feelings for Bokuto! It’s stupid, he’s an ass!” Kuroo may have accepted the fact that he apparently did have feelings for Bokuto, but that didn’t mean he was happy about it nor did it mean he had completely come to terms with it.

“But you do have feelings for Bokuto.” Kenma retorted, as casually as if he was describing the weather.

“Did _everyone_ know about this before I did?” Kuroo groaned, pulling the blanket down over his face as he tipped his head back against the couch. He heard his best friend let out a sigh.

“Bokuto doesn’t, obviously. But other than that, yes. There’s a groupchat about it. Oikawa’s work, obviously.”

“A groupchat?!” He huffed, shaking his head, “This is ridiculous!”

“But it’s true. Even you’ve realized it, now that Oikawa pointed it out to you.” Kenma commented, “I’m not that surprised you needed someone else to tell you, but it was pretty obvious.”

“How? How was it obvious?” Kuroo asked, pulling the blanket away from his face and turning to look at Kenma. What the hell had he even done to make everyone realize his feelings, when he hadn’t even been consciously acting on them?

“You two are always touching, for one. Bokuto literally ran under the net in the middle of the game yesterday to put you in a headlock, it’s like you two can’t go ten minutes without physical contact.” Kenma settled against the arm of the couch, eyes on his PSP, “You’re constantly flirting with him, with your weird affectionate insults thing,”

“Okay, that’s dumb! I affectionately insult everyone, that isn’t me flirting!” Kuroo argued

“The vibe is different when it’s Bokuto,” Kenma retorted

“Did you really just use the word vibe?”

“Do you want me to explain why you’re such an obvious moron with your crush or not?”

Kuroo huffed, “Whatever, continue.”

He shook his head a little, shooting Kuroo a venomless glare before he continued, “You also get weirdly competitive around him, and you’re always trying to impress him. You brag about stupid shit, you try to make yourself seem cool,” Kenma continued talking even as Kuroo grumbled yet another arguement about how his coolness was not pretend, “Plus, your face goes bright red whenever he’s affectionate or compliments you. It’s like you’re a teenager confessing, you get all flustered and start being an ass to compensate for it.”

Kuroo let out a groan, burying his face in his hands. Jesus christ, if Kenma was right (and more often than not, he was) then he was being _very_ obvious. He was surprised Bokuto hadn’t caught on yet.

“This is stupid,” He huffed, running a hand through his hair, “Why can’t I just have a normal friendship with a hot guy without feelings,”

“Oh, right, there’s that too. You call him hot a lot. And you stare at his arms, and legs, and… just, you stare at him a lot.” Kenma added on, completely apathetic to Kuroo’s suffering.

“You’re a bad friend, y’know.” Kuroo muttered, sinking into the couch and silently wishing it would just swallow him whole.

“Would you rather me lie to you and tell you you’re subtle about it?” Kenma arched an eyebrow, pausing his game.

“No, but you could be nicer about it.”

“If you wanted nice, you wouldn’t be friends with me.”

“Point taken,” Kuroo sighed, moving to stand up with the blanket still wrapped around him, “Oh my god, how the hell am I gonna deal with this shit? I’m gonna have to see him, and talk to him,” He huffed as he shuffled to the kitchen, grabbing a can of pop out of the fridge.

“Just keep acting like you have been. You obviously weren’t transparent enough about it for Bokuto to notice, so just act normal.” Kenma sighed, shaking his head.

“But if I keep acting like this, he’ll eventually notice! He’s oblivious, but he isn’t stupid,” Kuroo whined, sitting back down on the couch.

“I think you’re giving Bokuto too much credit. Even if he thought something was up, I doubt he’d immediately think you were in love with him.”

“I am not in love with him! I will admit to the crush, but it’s been five days, I am not in _love_ ,” Kuroo argued. That is something he would stand firm on; yeah, he might have feelings for Bokuto, but there was no way it was love. And it wouldn’t become love, either, Kuroo was making that very clear to himself. He was going to get over this shit, and save himself the embarrassment of being rejected by one of his closest friends.

And again, there was the issue of Bokuto’s sexuality. Sure, Kuroo didn’t exactly scream ‘bisexual’, but he was also the type of person who made a hundred jokes revolving around his own homosexuality in a single day. He wasn’t quiet about it. Bokuto basically screamed ‘straight’, and the fact that he hadn’t mentioned he was gay when Kuroo had come out to him basically cemented it into his mind that yeah, his friend was straight. It would have been a perfect opportunity, and Kuroo knew he would’ve taken it in Bokuto’s situation. His gaydar may not be the best, but he was at least somewhat sure he was right about Bokuto; which simultaneously made his life easier and way more difficult. The knowledge that he stood no chance _should_ help Kuroo get over his dumb crush. On the other hand, it gave him all the more reason to mope.

“Either way, you have feelings for him. I don’t know why it took Oikawa to make you realize it, but it isn’t that big of a deal,” Kenma commented.

“Yes it is! I have a crush on a straight guy I’ve known for less than a week. What part of this isn’t a big deal?” Kuroo groaned, rubbing his face with his hand. He didn’t catch Kenma’s eyeroll.

“Well you can’t spend a shit ton of time moping over it. Since when is catching feelings such a big deal to you?” Kenma raised an eyebrow.

“Since the last time it happened, it ended really fucking bad,” Kuroo retorted, nose scrunching up slightly at the memory of his last disasterous “relationship”.

“Well I very highly doubt Bokuto has a secret girlfriend overseas,” Kenma deadpanned, “So you’re probably clear on that one.”

“That’s not the point here,”

“Then what is the point?” Kenma sighed, seemingly done with Kuroo’s shit at that point, “Yeah, you have feelings for someone. Big whoop. You can be a drama queen about it, or you can just deal with it.”

Kenma was right. That didn’t mean Kuroo was totally over his moping, but it wasn’t as if he could do anything about it at this point. All he could do was try and get over it (or hope that his instincts were just way off about Bokuto’s sexuality). One way or the other, it was out of his control.

“Fine, you’re right.” Kuroo grumbled, tossing his blanket aside. “I’m still not leaving the dorm for the rest of the day.”

“Whatever,” Kenma shrugged, seeming confident enough that Kuroo wasn’t going to go back to bitching to unpause his game and turn his attention to the screen. He put his feet up at the coffee table, but apparently Kenma was sympathetic enough to his moping (or just so done with his shit) that he didn’t even bother to glare at him. He just let out a soft huff, eyes never leaving the screen of his PSP.

Kuroo’s attention was pulled towards his phone again as it buzzed with a text. For a moment he was worried that it was from Bokuto - the last thing he wanted to do was accidentally expose himself in the midst of all his moping. He’d managed through their constant snapchats over the past few hours, but if Bokuto wanted to facetime him or hang out right now, he would be fucked. However, the relief that came when Kuroo realized that it wasn’t him was short-lived.

 **Oink-awa** **_5:45pm_ **

_Have u finally realized i was right yet?_ _(◕‿◕)_

 **Kuro =^._.^=** **_5:45pm_ **

_fuck u_

**Oink-awa** **_5:46pm_ ** **_  
_** _RUDE_

 **Oink-awa** **_5:46pm_ **

_i make an attempt to help ur abysmal love life and this is how im repaid??_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_5:46pm_ **

_all u did was somehow manage to make my love life more abysmal u shit_

**Oink-awa** **_5:46pm_ **

_that is literally impossible but go off_

**Oink-awa** **_5:47pm_ **

_come on u literally have not been in a relationship for Y E A R S_

**Oink-awa** **_5:47pm_ **

_im helping u out_ _(´｡• ω •｡`)_

Kuroo may not have been a psychic or anything of the sort, but he was almost 100% sure that Oikawa was doing anything _but_ helping him out. Thankfully, the groupchat dinged a moment later, and he immediately knew Oikawa would be much too preoccupied with the ridiculous message from Hinata to continue to bug him about Bokuto.

 **Sho-yoooo** **_5:48pm_ **

_Is a coconut a mammal?_

**Tsukki** **_5:49pm_ **

_….. what_

**Iwa the Hedgehog** **_5:49pm_ **

_Hinata what the fuck_

**Noya-oya-oya** **_5:50pm_ **

_wait wait lets hear him out_

**Tsukki** **_3:50pm_ **

_lets not._

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_5:50pm_ **

_dont be such a grump tsukki_

**Ass-ahi** **_5:50pm_ **

_im actually a little curious_

**Sho-yooo** **_5:51pm_ **

_so i was reading this book for biology and it said that mammals were defined by the fact that they have hair and produce milk_

**Sho-yooo** **_5:51pm_ **

_then kageyama pointed out that coconuts have hair and also milk_

**Oink-awa** **_5:51pm_ **

_Chibi-chan u gotta be shitting me_

**Baldy** **_5:51pm_ **

_wait wait he has a point_

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_5:52pm_ **

_yeah he does_

Kuroo was more than happy to use this opportunity to both lure Oikawa into a stupid arguement to get back at him, and to focus on something other than his moping. Tooru, as usual, didn’t even seem to notice he was being goaded, and Kuroo laughed as he watched the bubbles under Oikawa’s name appear and disappear periodically for a good minute.

 **Oink-awa** **_5:53pm_ **

_He does NOT_

**Oink-awa** **_5:53pm_ **

_a coconut is not a fkin mammal?????_

**Oink-awa** **_5:53pm_ **

_its not even an animal!!!_

**Bok-hoot-o** **_5:53pm_ **

_how do u know that??_

His heart seemed to skip a nervous beat when Bokuto’s name popped up in the groupchat, a slight smile pulling at his lips. Of course Bokuto would jump on the chance to support a stupid idea, especially if said idea was Hinata’s. Besides, he didn’t have to worry about accidentally exposing his feelings over text, and Oikawa wasn’t vindictive enough to bring it up in front of Bokuto, so Kuroo allowed himself to set aside his moping and join in on riling Tooru up. It was a pretty entertaining distraction, after all.

 **Kuro =^._.^=** **_5:53pm_ **

_yeah tooru, coconuts can be whatever they want_

**Oink-awa** **_5:54pm_ **

_aSGHKDJKIKJLDDFH_

**Oink-awa** **_5:54pm_ **

_that isnt how things WORK_

**Tsukki** **_5:55pm_ **

_for once the drama queen is right about something_

**Oink-awa** **_5:55pm_ **

_im gonna ignore the insult and focus on the fact that im not the only smart one here_

**Iwa the Hedgehog** **_5:55pm_ **

_Lumping him in with u is an insult to Tsukishima’s intelligence_

**Tsukki** **_5:55pm_ **

_Agreed_

**Oink-awa** **_5:56pm_ **

_UNIMPORTANT_

**Oink-awa** **_5:56pm_ **

_A COCONUT IS NOT A FUCKIN MAMMAL_

**Noya-oya-oya** **_5:56pm_ **

_it has hair and produces milk_

**Noya-oya-oya** **_5:56pm_ **

_issa mammal_

**Sugar Momma** **_5:56pm_ **

_your logic is infallible.._

**Bok-hoot-o** **_5:56pm_ **

_he’s right tho_

The string of messages agreeing with Noya’s ‘infallible logic’ seemed to be the last straw for Oikawa, and a moment later, both Kuroo and Kenma’s phones lit up with a group facetime call. Kenma immediately hit ignore, putting his headphones over his ears as Kuroo gleefully hit ‘accept’.

He was immediately met with Oikawa’s face. He was in his glasses, looking more stressed than he did during exam season. One by one, more people started to join the chat. Nishinoya and Tanaka’s faces popped up on the same screen, and Kuroo could hear Asahi somewhere in the background telling them to leave Oikawa alone. Suga joined, as did Hinata, and a moment later Bokuto’s face popped up as well. Even Tsukki joined, though Kuroo suspected it was solely to watch Tooru’s slow descent into madness.

“Oh my god, Shittykawa, _let it go!_ ” Kuroo heard Iwaizumi’s voice in the background of what he assumed was Oikawa’s video feed, and a moment later he came into view in the background. Oikawa completely ignored him, taking a deep breath before beginning to speak once it seemed everyone who didn’t have class and was actually going to join had joined.

“A coconut is not a _fucking mammal!_ ” Oikawa’s words were more of a screech than anything, and Kuroo bit back a laugh as he saw Iwaizumi pinching the bridge of his nose as he sat down on the couch beside his idiot boyfriend.

“It has hair! And it produces milk! That’s a mammal,” Nishinoya argued. Oikawa looked about ready to pull his hair out.

“A mammal gives live birth to its kids!” Oikawa retorted, taking a moment to lean his phone against something so his hand gestures were visible.

“A platypus is a mammal and it doesn’t give live birth,” Kuroo chimed in, smirking at the way Oikawa glared at his camera.

“It still gives _birth!_ ” 

“How do you know a coconut doesn’t give birth?” Hinata asked, head tilted to the side like a confused pet. Kuroo couldn’t tell if Hinata was fucking with Oikawa, or if it was a genuine question. Either way, it made him burst out laughing.

“ _Because its a fucking plant!”_

“How do you know that?” Noya grinned, and Kuroo couldn’t help but burst out laughing as Oikawa put his face in his hands. He stood up, making his way to his bedroom to avoid annoying the shit out of Kenma; he figured this argument was going to go on for a while.

“Yeah, quit being species-ist,” Tanaka piped up, grinning as he watched Oikawa pull on his own hair.

“I am literally going to murder you all,” Oikawa groaned, “Change the damn subject, I’m not doing this anymore,”

“Aw c’mon, it was just getting fun,” Kuroo grinned, grabbing his vape pen off his nightstand and taking a haul. Immediately, he was met with a round of boos from Suga and Iwaizumi, and Oikawa’s wish for a subject change was granted.

“I thought you were quitting!” Suga crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat. For some reason, Kuroo felt like he was in the principal’s office back in high school or something.

“Hey, I quit cigarettes,” He said, huffing, “I’m just not quitting nicotine,”

Suga tutted, shaking his head, “It’s better than cigarettes, but it's still not good for you,” He lectured, pursing his lips.

“Nothing I do is good for me, my entire life has been bad choice after even badder choice,” Kuroo snorted a bit.

“He does have a point,” Tsukishima spoke for the first time since the video call had begun, and of course it was solely to target Kuroo with relentless bullying.

“Let me make dumb choices in peace,” Kuroo whined, blowing another cloud of vapour directly at the camera as if to punctuate his point.

“Tattoos, piercings, and a weird gold and red vape? You’re really trying to lean into this cool mysterious guy persona, huh?” Bokuto grinned, and Kuroo let out a huff, pretending to be offended by Bokuto’s teasing.

“It’s not a persona! I am cool!”

“You have a hello kitty sticker on your bong,” Oikawa deadpanned, finally bringing his face out of his hands.

“And you have a fucking alien engraved into your grinder, what’s your point here?” Kuroo arched an eyebrow.

“Why have I not been told you smoke?” Bokuto squawked, crossing his arms as if offended that he’d not been made privy to the information. Kuroo put his hands up in a show of surrender.

“You never asked!” He defended, leaning back against his headboard.

“I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out yourself,” Tsukishima commented, “He reeks constantly, and just generally looks like a stoner.”

“I do not!”

“I figured it was more of the whole ‘cool guy’ act,” Bokuto shrugged, and Kuroo crossed his arms.

“Can’t we go back to harassing Tooru? I got my share of bullying for the pants thing, it’s his turn.” He said, faking a pout. Bokuto just cackled a bit at Kuroo’s dramatics, and he had to force himself not to laugh along. His self control wasn’t that good, and he could feel his lips quirking up slightly no matter how hard he fought the smile. God, he really was fucked; the shitty audio of Bokuto’s laugh was enough to make him wanna grin like the gay idiot he was.

“Alright, Tooru is a poptart considered ravioli?” Tanaka piped up, and Kuroo finally let his pout morph into a shit-eating grin. He mentally thanked Tanaka, before reconsidering; the other owed him this, after all that betrayal.

“ _Are you fucking serious?!_ ”

~

The next morning Kuroo was basically shoved out of the dorm long before his class started, with Kenma stating he refused to deal with him continuing to mope around the dorm about his emotional breakthrough. Kuroo found it incredibly hypocritical that _Kenma_ of all people was telling him he needed to get out of the dorm, but he knew bringing that up wouldn’t exactly help his chances of being let back in.

“Go do groceries or something, but quit sitting on the couch and pouting. I’m not letting you back in before your class unless you come back with groceries, or something else that absolutely needs to be in the apartment,” Kenma declared, before shutting and locking the door in Kuroo’s face. He was still in his fucking pajamas, for gods sake, this was ridiculous!

He attempted to open the door, before beginning to knock, begging Kenma to at least let him change.

“No, if I let you into the dorm, you won’t leave.” Kenma retorted, and Kuroo let out a noise of annoyance. That had been his plan - after all, Kenma had only managed to get him out of the dorm by tricking him to walk to the front door and then shoving him out. Without the element of surprise, Kuroo could easily have gotten back into the apartment before Kenma shut the door (at least that was what he told himself). Either way, this was dumb, and Kuroo felt being exiled from his dorm for moping was unfair. But when it seemed evident that no, Kuroo would not be allowed to change out of his cat-themed pajama bottoms and slightly too-small Nekoma hoodie, he let out a huff.

“I want it to be known I’m not happy about this,” Kuroo called, knowing he was probably going to have a couple students nearby who would be pissed at him for being so loud.

“I don’t care,” Came Kenma’s immediate response, and with a huff, he finally walked towards the stairs and away from their dorm. At least Kenma had had the courtesy to throw Kuroo his phone and wallet before locking the door on him.

Kuroo knew he was being dramatic, but couldn’t he at least have had a couple more hours to be stupid about his feelings before he got his shit together? He’d been alright last night, especially while preoccupied with the groupchat, but that had only lasted until the video chat eventually ended and he’d sat in his room and stared at his ceiling for hours mulling over everything. Apparently the facetime call _hadn’t_ helped his moping; when the call ended, he’d stared at the black screen of his phone for a good ten minutes stressing over whether he’d done anything to give away his feelings. From there, his thoughts spiraled, leaving him helplessly caught up in the tornado’s path of destruction. He’d fallen asleep sometime after midnight, only to be dragged into some stupid dream he couldn’t really remember. The only thing he could recall was the feeling of large arms around his waist, lips on his own, and bright yellow eyes staring at him.

So, yeah, Kuroo felt he was within his right to mope. Having a crush was one thing; having dreams about making out with said crush was a whole new territory. Apparently Kuroo’s ability to ignore his impure thoughts completely vanished once his subconscious took over. Who knew.

Kuroo really didn’t want to be forced out of his apartment until his class ended; it was only 8am, and his class didn’t even start until noon. For a moment, he considered trying to just pick the lock on their dorm door. However, he reconsidered once he remembered that the _last_ time he’d tried that, they’d needed a whole new door handle cause he’d somehow managed to fuck up the lock entirely. With a huff, Kuroo began walking towards the school’s parking lot reserved for students living on campus, only to immediately realize he didn’t even have his car keys with him. On top of everything else, he had to walk to the damn grocery store.

He genuinely thought his day couldn’t get any worse, and it was barely 8:30. However, it seemed the universe simply enjoyed reveling in his misery at that point, or was just determined to prove him wrong for some goddamn reason, because as he turned away from the direction of the parking lot, he heard his name being called.

By Bokuto, of course, because why the hell _wouldn’t_ it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *feel free to yell at me on tumblr!! @kuidore*


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad singing, mushy produce, and the ultimate matchmaking duo™

Kuroo wasn’t entirely sure what sins he’d committed in his past or present life to warrant this sort of antagonism from the universe, but this shit was getting old. He really wasn’t disappointed or annoyed that he’d run into Bokuto - it was exactly the opposite, and that was the whole issue. Kuroo, even in his mopey state, couldn’t help but grin widely and raise a hand in greeting when he saw Bokuto, excitement tugging at his chest.

_ Yeah, I’m totally fucked, aren’t I? _

“Why the hell are you out so early? And why are you still in your pajamas?” Bokuto grinned as he stopped in front of Kuroo, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and rubbing his knuckles against his skull. God, it was insane how something as simple as Bokuto’s arm around his shoulders was enough to set his face ablaze with a blush and twist his stomach into knots. Even interacting on facetime didn’t hold a candle to physically standing beside him, and Kuroo felt more worried than ever that he was going to say or do something really, really fucking stupid.

“Get off me, moron,” Kuroo laughed, fighting off his momentary surprise in an attempt to not make things weird. Pretending everything was normal might be a little more difficult than he expected, “I had to go out to get groceries, and Kenma kicked me out in my pajamas. Didn’t even have the courtesy to give me my car keys,” He sighed dramatically.

“He kicked you out? Why?” Bokuto finally let go of him, thankfully unaware of Kuroo’s fast-beating heart and internal gay panic.

“Apparently he was tired of me binging bad movies on the couch,” Kuroo pursed his lips, shaking his head in mock disappointment. He got as close to the truth as he could without having to explain that he’d been kicked out cause he was moping about his own feelings.  _ Technically _ , he wasn’t lying; Kenma had in fact gotten fed up with his binging of bad american drama shows and sappy romance movies. Kuroo had just chosen to omit the incriminating details.

“Damn, that’s cruel,” Bokuto pretended to wipe away a tear, one hand over his chest. For once, he was actually wearing a sweater and pants instead of shorts and a workout shirt.  _ Wow, didn’t know it did that. _ Kuroo didn’t know whether to be thankful or disappointed he couldn’t outwardly ogle Bokuto’s bare arms.

“See? Someone else understands my pain,” Kuroo joked, lips pulling up into a smile.

“You can always count on me to back you up, bro,” Bokuto bumped their shoulders together, and Kuroo could only attempt to not immediately think of his conversation with Oikawa.  _ Come on! Self control, you fucking moron. _

“Glad to know at least you have my back,” He grinned, putting a hand over his heart as he attempted to sound touched. Bokuto just elbowed him, smiling at Kuroo’s dramatics.

“Wait, Kenma didn’t give you your car keys?” Bokuto seemed to just then process Kuroo’s reason for standing aimlessly at the entrance to the parking lot, “Does he expect you to walk to the grocery store?”

“Probably. More likely he didn’t even think about it, and he wasn’t gonna open the door to give ‘em to me. I would’ve gotten back in,” He snickered a bit, shoving his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

“I can drive you!” Bokuto immediately offered, grinning as he grabbed Kuroo’s arm.

“Seriously, dude, you don’t have to-”

“I want to! Besides, I’d be a pretty big asshole if I let my bro walk all the way to the grocery store. It’s freezing out, you might die of hypothermia or something!” Bokuto seemed intent on not taking no for an answer, so Kuroo just let himself be dragged into the parking lot. He wasn’t going to say no to a free ride, or a chance to hang out with Bokuto. Besides, it would be rude to ignore such a genuine act of kindness, right? Yeah, that was gonna be his excuse.

“Wow, you’re even more dramatic than I am,” Kuroo teased, earning a half assed glare over Bokuto’s shoulder.

“That’s physically impossible, you dork,” Bokuto retorted, grinning. His fingers were warm, wrapping around the part of Kuroo’s wrist that was constantly exposed by the too-short sleeves of his highschool sweater. He felt his face start to heat up, and attempted to force away the blush. It was the cold; the cold was the reason his cheeks suddenly felt so warm. Absolutely no reason other than the cold.

“And yet somehow, you manage,” Kuroo teased, nearly running into Bokuto’s back when he suddenly stopped walking; he just barely managed to stop himself in time so he didn’t knock both of them on their asses. The last thing he needed today was to bruise his fucking tailbone on the sheet of ice that coated the student parking lot. It was a moment later when Kuroo registered why they had stopped, and his eyebrows basically disappeared into his hairline, “Wait, this is your car?”

He let out an impressed whistle as he saw the car Bokuto had stopped in front of. Kuroo had never been the most knowledgeable about cars; motorcycles were his area of interest, but even then, he didn’t care about much other than the fact that they looked cool and added to his whole ‘awesome bad boy’ vibe he was still convinced he was pulling off. Even then, he could tell the car was  _ nice _ . It was some kind of sports car; obviously it wasn’t new, it had a few small dents around the bumper and back end. Either way, it looked expensive.

“Yup! It was Yua’s car, before she got married. She got it second hand off my step-dad’s friend, but she got a more ‘family-friendly’ car when she had my niece last year, so she gave it to me!” Bokuto grinned, “Isn’t it awesome?”

“Yeah. But jesus christ, how the hell do you expect to afford any parts if it starts fucking up?” Kuroo scoffed a bit. Even normal car parts didn’t come cheap; he was pretty sure even the smallest repairs on such an expensive vehicle would cost a good bit of money.

“I’ve got a pretty big chunk of savings; most of my expenses are just residence, since they gave me a scholarship for volleyball. But Yua’s a mechanic, she just got back to work a month or so ago. So if it ever needs fixed, I can take it to her!” Koutarou’s voice went a little soft when he spoke about his sister. Fuck groceries; Kuroo was more than willing to stand here in the cold and listen to Bokuto go on about his family until his classes started.

“Thats awesome,” He grinned, and Bokuto’s smile widened as he saw Kuroo sharing his excitement over the car. Kuroo’s own happiness was mostly attributed to  _ Bokuto’s _ excitement, but he didn’t need to know that.

It was at that moment he became acutely aware that Bokuto was still holding onto his wrist. It seemed Bokuto became aware of it as well, because he suddenly let go. For a moment, Kuroo missed the warmth, before he shook off the feeling.

“Come on! I want to pick some stuff up too, Akaashi  _ never _ lets me go grocery shopping on my own!” Bokuto pulled out his keys, unlocking the car and climbing into the driver's seat. Kuroo felt like there was definitely a reason for that, but he didn’t comment on it as he climbed in.

The car rumbled to life as Bokuto turned it on, and Kuroo nearly had a heart attack when it lurched forwards before he’d even gotten the seatbelt on. Bokuto sped out of the parking lot and onto the road without so much as a moment’s warning.

“Jesus christ, dude!” Kuroo yelped out, putting on his seatbelt. He had to resist the urge to clutch onto the ceiling’s grab handle for dear life like a mother teaching their child to drive.

“What?” Bokuto laughed a bit, turning his head to shoot him a grin.

“Focus on the road, you moron!” Kuroo reached out to push Bokuto’s cheek, forcing him to turn his eyes back on the road. The other just laughed, and for a moment, Kuroo thought he felt Bokuto lean into his hand before he pulled it away.  _ I’m imagining it. _

Bokuto wasn’t a bad driver. Or at least, that’s what Kuroo repeated in his head like a mantra to keep himself from panicking as they weaved through traffic. However, he had to admit there was some truth to the statement once he’d eventually calmed down. Sure, they were definitely  _ not _ going the speed limit, but Bokuto wasn’t mindlessly passing cars or nearly rear-ending people every five minutes. He was surprisingly focused on the road, which Kuroo found impressive for a man who more often than not had the attention span of a fruit fly. Once he was sure that he wasn’t going to die in a car crash, Kuroo relaxed significantly, a slight grin on his face as he listened to Bokuto belt out the wrong lyrics to some foreign pop song. He joined in a moment later, their voices clashing horribly with the high pitched sound of the actual singer. Neither of them were even trying to sound good, evident enough when Bokuto attempted to hit a high note as they pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store, and subsequently squeaked like a dog toy that’d been stomped on.

Kuroo basically lost it at that point, tears leaking from his eyes as he felt the car stop. His ugly snort-laugh seemed to send Bokuto into his own fit, and by the time they calmed down, Bokuto’s forehead was against the steering wheel, Kuroo’s elbows on his knees as he attempted to compose himself. 

“Okay, okay, cut it out,” Kuroo wiped the tears from his eyes, undoing his seatbelt and climbing out of the car once he was certain he wasn’t going to start laughing again. His cheeks were already starting to hurt from smiling so much.

“Hey, you should be appreciating my singing voice! Not many people have the pleasure of hearing it,” Bokuto retorted, wiping away his own tears as he turned off the car and fell into step beside Kuroo.   
“Uh huh, I’ll be sure to appreciate it when my ears stop bleeding,” Kuroo teased, descending into laughter again when Bokuto shoved him in response. They both (hopefully) had calmed themselves down by the time they stepped into the grocery store, Kuroo grabbing himself a basket. He raised an eyebrow as he watched Bokuto do the same.

“Aren’t you ‘not allowed to go grocery shopping alone’?” Kuroo questioned, and Bokuto just shrugged.

“ _ Technically  _ I’m not alone, so I’m not breaking any rules,” He grinned, and Kuroo could only groan in response.

“Great, take me down with you and make Akaashi think I’m a bad influence,” Kuroo sighed dramatically, shaking his head as he walked towards the meat section.

“You  _ are _ a bad influence, first off. Second… wait, no, that was it,” Bokuto let out a noise of surprise as he was elbowed, pouting a bit.

“How am I a bad influence? If anything, you’re the bad one,” Kuroo retorted, looking over the packages of meat in search of the cheapest ones. He didn’t need to buy big packages anyways - neither himself nor Kenma had abnormally large appetites - and Kuroo honestly didn’t care if they were eating bad fast-fry steaks or stewing meat. He could make more than enough meals with the ingredients their budget allowed.

“I am not, I have never done anything remotely bad in my life,” Bokuto retorted, feigning offense as he grabbed about a dozen packages of meat.

“Setting your kitchen on fire, willingly giving your pants to a stranger, smacking your face on the gym wall and denting the drywall, getting tangled in the net trying to spike, tripping over a volleyball and giving yourself a nosebleed,” Kuroo listed off, ignoring Koutarou’s indignant whine, “You’re also buying 12 packages of meat you definitely cannot afford right now. That’s like, fancy shit.”

Bokuto only then registered just how much the steaks he was grabbing cost, immediately dumping half of them back on the refrigerated shelf, “Shit, I didn’t even see the price,” He laughed sheepishly, and Kuroo just shook his head.

“No wonder Akaashi doesn’t let you shop alone, you’d blow all your savings on meat,” Kuroo teased, grabbing some mackerel before moving towards the produce.

“Hey! It would definitely be worth it,” Bokuto huffed, but his offended facade broke, lips twitching as he tried to fight off a smile.

“Whatever you say, bro.”

The two continued around the grocery store; it was practically empty, aside from a couple elderly people who either smiled warmly at them, or avoided them entirely. Kuroo couldn’t blame them; they probably looked like crackheads or something. Kuroo with his bedhead, too-small hoodie and cat-themed pajamas, Bokuto in his track pants with the word ‘hoot’ printed across the ass and a university hoodie covered in fluff. The fact that Bokuto was continually trying to whack Kuroo with just about everything he got his hands on definitely didn’t help. He felt bad for whoever decided to buy the many mushy vegetables Bokuto was probably leaving in his wake.

“Quit hitting me with everything you see, dickhead,” Kuroo snorted as Bokuto poked him with a weirdly-shaped eggplant.   
“Poking and hitting are two different things,” Bokuto pointed out, still grinning as he put down the vegetable.

“Either way, I would rather not get kicked out of a grocery store. That would be, like, a new low,” He let out a slight laugh, having to fight off a smile at Bokuto’s pout. 

Kuroo loaded his basket with a bunch of fruits and vegetables, grabbing a couple loaves of bread and some pasta before he had gotten basically all he needed; their dorm was constantly stocked with both American and Japanese snacks Kenma ordered off Amazon (the lazy fuck), so real food was all he had come for. Kuroo was about to make his way towards the cashier, however Bokuto seemed far from done with his own shopping.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Kuroo followed after as Bokuto wandered towards the cereal aisle. He was almost scared of what would happen if he let Bokuto wander around on his own. Akaashi might genuinely kill him, and that’d probably be enough to put an end to whatever was going on with him and Kenma; he was fairly certain the murder of a best friend was a pretty big dealbreaker.

Or maybe not. Kuroo couldn’t really say for sure.

“How many boxes of cereal do you go through, dude?” He snickered a bit as he focused on Bokuto as opposed to the possibility of being murdered by Akaashi. He watched in amusement as he attempted to balance two family-sized boxes of cinnamon toast crunch on top of the items already in his basket, another box of lucky charms tucked under his arm.

“Don’t judge my cereal habits, you ass,” Bokuto faked a pout, turning his back on Kuroo in favour of the candy aisle. Bokuto was out of his sight for a whole thirty seconds, but by the time Kuroo turned the corner, both the basket and his arms were full of various bags of junk food.

He was most definitely starting to realize why Bokuto wasn’t allowed to grocery shop on his own.

“Alright, come on idiot. You’ve got more than enough stuff,” Kuroo snorted, walking towards the checkout. As much as he didn’t want to face the wrath of Akaashi for enabling Bokuto’s grocery habits, it was fairly amusing to watch. Bokuto followed a few feet behind, somehow managing to make it to the cashier without dropping everything in his arms. Kuroo shook his head a bit as he unloaded his own basket, shooting a polite (and slightly apologetic) smile at the cashier. He could only imagine the shit they had to go through, working early mornings in a grocery store so close to the university. Then again, he doubted that he and Bokuto were even close to the weirdest customers the workers had to deal with.

Kuroo thanked her as he paid for his things and grabbed his three bags of groceries, waiting just outside the doors for Bokuto to pay for his things. He walked out a minute later with six grocery bags, car keys clamped between his teeth.

“Can you take the keys?” Was what Kuroo assumed Bokuto was  _ trying _ to say, not that he could really understand him. It came out more like a string of garbled syllables, and Tetsurou had to fight off a snort as he carefully took the keys out of Bokuto’s mouth, walking back towards the parking lot and popping the trunk. He gently set his own grocery bags inside, letting out a slight huff as he moved to help Bokuto. Kuroo could feel his lips pulling into a fond grin, and he didn’t even care enough to try to stop it.

“Why the hell’d you buy so much shit, dude?” Kuroo snorted, tossing the keys back to Bokuto once his arms were no longer full. Bokuto fumbled with them a bit before catching them, grinning.

“I need study snacks,” Bokuto said, climbing back into the driver's seat.

“Study snacks, or ‘sit on my phone with my textbook open’ snacks?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow, laughing as Bokuto lightly punched him in the shoulder.

“I’ll have you know I do study! I just… Don’t have a lot of free time!” Bokuto turned on the car, puffing out his cheeks.

“Oh, so you have enough time to harass stray animals and eat fifty bowls of cereal a day, but not enough to study?” Kuroo turned to look at Bokuto with a slight grin. He kept his eyes on the road, but pouted a bit at the callout.

“You don’t study either!”

“I’ll have you know I finished my chapter readings the other day,” Kuroo bragged, crossing his arms and focusing his attention on the road, before his brain could get too interested in Bokuto’s side profile and he started losing his cool.

“Of course you did, you nerd,” Bokuto retorted, a smile pulling at his lips when Kuroo elbowed him.

“If you have that much trouble studying, just do it with someone else. Have them quiz you or something,” Kuroo suggested, leaning back and putting his feet up on the dashboard.

“I tried! ‘Kaashi makes me study with him, but he just sits in silence and reads. I can’t focus when it’s quiet,” Bokuto said, reaching over to push Kuroo’s feet off the dashboard. He pouted, but kept his feet down nonetheless. Kuroo turned his head to respond, but momentarily found himself caught up in the way Bokuto’s nose was scrunched up in a disgruntled expression. After a second of staring, he cleared his throat, suddenly finding the radio dial  _ very  _ interesting as he spoke again.

“Why don’t you study with me? If I can get Hinata, Noya, and Tanaka to focus, I’m sure you’ll be no problem,” Kuroo suggested, picking at the small pieces of fluff on his sweater as he tried to be as casual as possible.  _ Smooth. _

Bokuto didn’t seem to notice anything was off, thankfully. “Wait, really?” He grinned, turning to look at Kuroo for a moment before focusing back on the road, “Yeah! That’d be great!”

“My last class ends at four, if you wanna start tonight?” Kuroo suggested, refusing to acknowledge the way his heart jumped as Bokuto accepted the offer. He also pointedly ignored the goblin voice in the back of his head chanting the words  _ study date _ .

“Hell yeah! We can use my dorm, ‘Kaashi won’t mind! Especially if I’m actually studying,” Bokuto bounced a bit in his seat. Kuroo couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the fact that he seemed so excited about something as dumb as studying together.

“We gotta actually study, though. He’s already not gonna like me when he sees all the fuckin’ shit I let you buy,” He joked, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. Bokuto just shrugged.

“He can’t dislike you that much! He’s gonna have to learn to deal with you anyways,” Bokuto snickered a bit. Kuroo didn’t want to think too much about the connotation behind Bokuto’s words, lest he start to get his damn hopes up. He just shrugged a bit as Bokuto pulled into the student parking lot.

“Yeah, seriously. If he wants to date Kenma, he’s gonna need to handle the childhood best friend,” Kuroo joked, hoping to shift the subject of conversation into a territory where he wouldn’t get stupidly caught up in underlying promises of hanging out enough that Akaashi would have to tolerate his presence. Kuroo was jerked forward, held back only by his seatbelt as Bokuto suddenly hit the breaks, barely managing to get himself into a parking spot without hitting another car.

“Wait,  _ what?! _ ” He squawked, turning to look at Kuroo with wide eyes, “Kaashi’s dating Kenma?!”

“Calm down, idiot,” Kuroo laughed, undoing his seatbelt before turning to look at Bokuto, “They’re not actually dating. But I think they’re something. They left together after the volleyball game on Monday and spent like, hours together. Akaashi even got Kenma to  _ eat. _ ”

“Huuh!? Why did I not know about this?” Bokuto whined, throwing his hands in the air and subsequently whacking the roof of the car.

“I wouldn’t have known either, if I didn’t grill Kenma when he got back. He seemed happy about it though, so I’m guessing it's something a little more than just a friendly hangout.” Kuroo shrugged, “He got embarrassed when I teased him about it.”

“That’s why Akaashi looked so happy when he came home?” Bokuto gasped a bit, “He said he was at the library, he didn’t tell me he’d been with Kenma the whole time!”

“Yeah, I was surprised. Kenma didn’t even bring his games; that little idiot brings those things  _ everywhere _ . He sat and played on his PSP through his own graduation! I’ve never seen him willingly leave them at home, especially if he’s spending time with people,” Kuroo said, punctuating his words with random gestures of his hands, “They’ve been texting a bunch too! I’m pretty sure I even heard them on facetime the other night.”

“Whaa?!” Bokuto gaped, “Akaashi hates facetime!”

“So does Kenma! This is the first time I’ve ever seen him facetime someone one-on-one who wasn’t me. He barely joins the group facetimes,” Kuroo sighed, putting a hand over his heart, “My little Kenma’s growing up, getting himself a boyfriend.” He pretended to wipe away a tear.

“Akaashi’s never dated anyone before. He always said he didn’t like the idea of a relationship, he said it was a distraction or something.” Bokuto seemed both shocked and excited about the mere possibility that Akaashi and Kenma really were something romantic. It was cute, how giddy Bokuto got from the happiness of the people around him. “I mean, Kenma and Keiji are pretty similar! I can see why they get along so well.”

“I told Kenma to go for it,” Kuroo commented as he climbed out of the car, “He’s not a fan of relationships, and I think he was kinda put off when he and Chibi-chan didn’t work out, so he’s scared. I just told him he didn’t have anything to worry about.”

“Right! I forgot he and Hinata dated! He always told me about his boyfriend, but that was when he was still in high school, so I never actually got to meet him!” Bokuto mused, grabbing his grocery bags from the trunk, “I never really put it together that Hinata’s Kenma and your Kenma were the same guy.”

“Yeah, Kenma and Hinata are still pretty close, but they didn’t really work out as a couple. They both realized it pretty quick, so they ended good. Thank god, cause I really didn’t want to be torn between the Karasuno guys and Kenma. I mean, I obviously would choose Kenma, but still,” Kuroo grinned a bit, grabbing his own bags.

“You should bring Kenma tonight, then! He and Akaashi can hang out while we study,” Bokuto said as they began to walk back towards the dorms, shoulders brushing with every step.

“Bro, you’re a genius!” Kuroo grinned, “If our hands weren’t full, I’d so high five you,”

“It’s alright, the sediment is received loud and clear!”

“The…” Kuroo trailed off, taking a moment to register Bokuto’s words before he burst out laughing, “Did you just say  _ sediment? _ ”

“Yeah?” Bokuto’s eyebrows furrowed a bit, obviously a little confused by Kuroo’s laughter, “It’s like, the feeling of something! Like, the thought behind something or whatever!”

Kuroo had to stop walking to avoid tripping over his own feet and dropping all his groceries.

“Bo, sweetheart,  _ sentiment _ . You’re thinking of sentiment. Sediment is like.. sand that turns into rock or some shit like that,” Kuroo wheezed out, and Bokuto’s eyes widened.

“Fuck, seriously?” Bokuto burst out laughing, running a hand over his face as Kuroo straightened up, finally composing himself. If he didn’t have good enough abs before, Kuroo was sure that all this damn laughing was giving him an eight pack or some shit.

“Yeah, seriously,” Kuroo huffed a bit, still grinning as they continued the walk towards their dorms.

“Anyways, that doesn’t matter! What matters is that we encourage Kenma and Akaashi’s relationship!” Bokuto huffed out, cheeks tinted a light pink from laughter.

“You can’t be obvious about it! You can tease him about it, but if we’re gonna try to set them up or something, you can’t let Akaashi know what we’re doing,” Kuroo pointed out as they approached his dorm building, “Don’t be obvious about it!”

“I can be subtle!” Bokuto retorted, puffing out his cheeks. Kuroo simply raised an eyebrow in disbelief, and he huffed a bit, “Fine, fine! I won’t be obvious.”

“You better not be,” Kuroo said, shooting him a teasing glare, “I’ll be over a bit after 4, alright? I’m gonna have to drop by the dorm if I wanna drag Kenma along.”

“Alright! You know where my dorm building is, right?”

“Same one as Hinata, right?” Kuroo arched an eyebrow, and Bokuto nodded as he began walking backwards away from the building.

“Yeah! Second floor, fifth door on the right!” He called, shooting Kuroo another grin and a wave goodbye before turning around.

Kuroo shook his head a bit, a slight smile on his face as he made his way up to his dorm room. He tried the door, only to find it still locked, and groaned a bit.

“Kenma! Let me in, I have groceries!” He called. His hands were still full, so he chose to kick the door in place of a knock. There were a few seconds of silence, and Kuroo momentarily wondered if Kenma was even still in the dorm, but a moment later the door cracked open just enough for Kuroo to see a yellow eye squinting at him from inside the dorm. He held up the shopping bags as proof, and with a sigh, Kenma opened the door and moved back to his place on the couch.

“Did you seriously walk to the grocery store?” Kenma questioned as he sat down on the couch, “You were gone for a while.”

“No, Bo drove me. Since  _ someone  _ didn’t give me my car keys,” He huffed, dropping the bags on the kitchen counter and putting away what needed to be refrigerated.

“I didn’t realize until you were already gone,” He shrugged, “So are you done with your moping?”

“For now,” Kuroo grumbled, moving to sit down on the couch, “I think it’ll be fine. We hung out for like, two hours, and I don’t think I did anything to-”

_ Bo, sweetheart... _

Kenma shot Kuroo a confused look as he suddenly cut himself off, burying his face in his hands and letting out a groan.

“What now?” Kenma pinched the bridge of his nose. Kuroo suspected he was wondering if he could trick him out of the apartment for a second time.

“I called him  _ sweetheart _ . I accidentally called him fucking  _ sweetheart _ , oh my god,” He whined into his hands. Kenma sighed, shaking his head a bit, “This is horrible!”

“You’re being dramatic. He obviously didn’t notice, or you wouldn’t just be realizing it now.” Kenma pointed out, focusing his attention back on the television.

“Still!”

“Stop being dramatic, you moron. You call everyone random pet names. You called Daichi ‘babe’ the other day.” Kenma said, not a hint of sympathy for Kuroo’s anguish in his tone.

“It’s different when it’s Bokuto!” Kuroo huffed, finally taking his face out of his hands. 

“To you it is, but to him it won’t be. Like I said, I doubt he even noticed,” Kenma pointed out.

Kuroo leaned back against the couch for a second, letting out an annoyed sigh. Kenma was probably right. Bokuto didn’t even notice; if he had, he would’ve said something, right? Kuroo was fine, it was a stupid nickname. It wouldn’t make Bokuto immediately think he had a crush on him, right?

“Oh, I’m going over to his dorm to study after my last class today. Do you wanna come with?” Kuroo asked, comforted enough by Kenma’s unsympathetic words to change the subject. Kenma raised an eyebrow, but Kuroo continued before he could answer, “Akaashi’ll probably be there.”

Kenma pursed his lips a little, eyes still focused on the television as he mulled over his answer. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”

“You have until four, just text me and let me know before my class ends. If you’re coming, I’ll come by after my class and we can go together.” Kuroo couldn’t help but grin a bit. If his suspicions were correct, the only reason Kenma was even considering it was because he’d mentioned Akaashi.

“Stop smiling like that, you dick.”

“What? Can’t I be happy that my best friend wants to study with me?” Kuroo put a hand over his heart, feigning innocence. Kenma shot him a glare from the corner of his eye, cheeks tinted slightly pink.

“You’re not the reason I’m considering it.”

“So you admit it! You have a thing for Akaashi!” Kuroo accused, bumping their shoulders together. It was just confirmation of what he’d already suspected, but hearing Kenma outwardly admit that he was considering dealing with Bokuto and Kuroo’s bullshit solely for the opportunity to hang out with Akaashi was a  _ huge  _ step forward.

“Shut the fuck up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments/kudos/bookmarks are super appreciated! Thank you to everyone who is liking the story so far!
> 
> Also, I'm thinking of making this into a collection with some side stories/oneshots (once I'm done this story, obviously) focusing on some of the other characters and even bo and kuroo?? Havent decided if I'm going to do it yet, but if there's any side characters yall would wanna see more of, or any prompts you have, feel free to tell me on tumblr!!
> 
> *come yell at me on tumblr!! @kuidore*


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chef Kuroo, Sharknado, and Kenma considering best friend-icide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay ikik this update took a lot longer than I expected it to, im v sorry abt that
> 
> but still, I hope you guys like this chapter. its a bit of a filler one, but i figured u guys would like it anyways. i promise i'll try to get the next update up quicker than this one went up (emphasis on try). this whole quarantine thing is messing with my sense of time, i didnt even realize how long it'd been since i'd updated

Kuroo’s classes dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. Halfway through his second lecture was when his concentration completely broke, the professor’s voice levelling to a monotone hum as he studied the flickering light in the front corner of the lecture hall with more interest than he’d had for any of his lectures that day. It didn’t help that both of the classes had been in the same hall; a chance to stand up and walk around might have fought off the boredom, but instead he’d been stuck sitting in the same seat for long enough that his entire lower body had lost feeling. He didn’t even bother making it look like he was taking notes; he could always copy off someone else’s notes, or just check the recording and powerpoint that would be posted after class.

Eventually, even the flickering light wasn’t enough to hold his attention. Kuroo normally avoided texting during lectures - he kept his phone in his bag insteads of his pocket solely to avoid the temptation of checking it every time it buzzed - but sometimes the material became so repetitive Kuroo knew he had to find something to entertain himself before he passed out and fucked up more of his notes with drool. There was no way he was redrawing all those stupid diagrams, and he felt like this was the perfect time to entertain himself with his phone anyways.

As if he’d somehow heard Kuroo’s internal cry for entertainment, Bokuto texted him a moment later, the contact name flashing on top of his phone as a flood of text messages came through.

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:34pm_ **

_ BRO BRO BRO _

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:34pm_ **

_ I TOLD KAASHI U WERE COMING OVER AND HE DIDNT EVEN CARE HE IMMEDIATELY ASKED ABOUT KENMA WTF _

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:34pm_ **

_ HE LITERALLY JUST WENT ‘Oh. is he bringing Kenma-san with him?’ _

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:35pm_ **

_ UR FUCKIN RIGHT HES GOT IT BADDD _

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:35pm_ **

_ I told u dude _

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:35pm_ **

_ kenma said hed think about coming along and he straight up admitted akaashi would be the only reason hed go _

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:36pm_ **

_ Then he got mad again when i teased him but thats not important _

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:36pm_ **

_ U SHOULD TELL KENMA THAT KEIJI ASKED ABOUT HIM THATLL DEFINITELY GET HIM TO COME _

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:36pm_ **

_ ur MIND BRO _

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:37pm_ **

_ Genius, i’ll text him now _

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:37pm_ **

_ i know i know, im incredible _

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:37pm_ **

_ oi watch the ego or i might have to knock it down a couple pegs _

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:37pm_ **

_ do it pussy _

Kuroo shook his head a bit, forcing himself to fight off a laugh. He didn’t need the annoyed glares from his classmates, or for Professor hardass to realize he hadn’t been paying attention for half the lecture. Instead he exited out of his messages with Bokuto, scrolling until he found Kenma’s contact.

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:39pm_ **

_ Have u decided if ur coming along or not?? _

**Ken-mom /ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\** **_3:40pm_ **

_ not yet. _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:40pm_ **

_ okay wellllllll _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:40pm_ **

_ u should come, akaashi asked abt u _

**Ken-mom /ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\** **_3:41pm_ **

_ … _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:41pm_ **

_ dont give me the judgemental silence im srs _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:41pm_ **

_ bo said he asked if u were coming as soon as he mentioned i was coming over to study _

**Ken-mom /ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\** **_3:41pm_ **

_ fine i’ll come. _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:41pm_ **

_!!!!! _

**Ken-mom /ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\** **_3:42pm_ **

_ shut up. _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:42pm_ **

_ Ahhhh young love _

**Ken-mom /ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\** **_3:42pm_ **

_ maybe i should text bokuto _

**Ken-mom /ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\** **_3:42pm_ **

_ i have some information he might be interested in _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:43pm_ **

_ what r u _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:43pm_ **

_ WAIT NO KENMA DO NOT I STG DO NOT IM SORRY _

**Ken-mom /ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\** **_3:43pm_ **

_ ur lucky im not that mean. _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:43pm_ **

_ ty ily _

**Ken-mom /ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\** **_3:44pm_ **

_ yeah whatever _

As much as Kuroo knew Kenma was not going to go running to Bokuto to spill his secrets, it still took him a minute to brush off the moment of panic. Once the (semi)rational part of his brain finally took over again, he went to text Bokuto again.

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:46pm_ **

_ ken said he’d come!!!!!!! _

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:46pm_ **

_ HELL YEAH _

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:46pm_ **

_ I told keiji he just nodded but like _

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:46pm_ **

_ He LOOKS excited _

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:47pm_ **

_ Hell yeah we’re geniuses _

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:47pm_ **

_ YEAH WE ARE!!! _

Kuroo’s lips pulled up into a smile; he could practically imagine Bokuto punching the air victoriously, grinning like an idiot at their minor accomplishment. He didn’t even care that he probably looked grossly sappy, like some moron in a movie fantasizing about their crush; granted, that was exactly what he was doing, but that was unimportant. He glanced up from his phone when the Professor dismissed the class a few minutes early, moving to pack up his unfinished notes before he texted Bokuto.

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:52pm_ **

_ prof let us out early, b there in like 10 _

He slipped his phone in his pocket, following the crowd of students exiting the lecture hall. The cold wind whipped at his face; it was barely two weeks into September, and yet the summer heat had been sucked away faster than normal, leaving bitter autumn weather in its wake. He walked faster than normal towards his dorm, dodging the crowds by cutting across the huge expanse of trees, flowers, and perfectly manicured grass that was the centrepiece of the campus. All the while, he mentally insisted it was the cold that had gotten him to his dorm a few minutes before 4:00, and not the excitement buzzing through him like a drug.

Kuroo wasn’t paying much attention as he stepped into the dorm, and he let out a noise of surprise as he nearly tripped over Kenma. The last thing he’d expected was for the little idiot to already be dressed and getting ready to leave, especially since Kuroo’s class wasn’t even technically over yet.

Kenma stood back up, shooting Kuroo an unimpressed look.   
“Hey, I expected you to still be sitting on the couch,” He pointed out, earning a sigh and an eyeroll, “You’re really excited about this, huh?” He’d hardly ever seen Kenma willingly pull himself away from his games before he absolutely had to; it was even more rare to see him actively trying to get ready for any kind of social thing. He was wearing jeans for god's sake (Kuroo wondered when the hell he’d even bought jeans in the first place). Despite the fact that his statement was much more sincere than most comments he’d already made about Kenma’s crush, it was still enough to get him an elbow to the side.

“Don’t act like you’re not worse. You left class early to get here before four,” Kenma retorted, wrapping a scarf around his face and grabbing his book bag. Kuroo caught sight of Kenma’s switch sitting on the kitchen counter, obviously being left behind, but didn’t comment on it.

“I actually got dismissed early, thank you very much,” Kuroo grumbled, grabbing his laptop bag off the coffee table. Maybe he  _ had  _ speed walked (okay, jogged) from the lecture hall to their dorm, but Kenma didn’t need to know that.

“Whatever, let’s just go,” Kenma rolled his eyes, stepping out of the dorm. Kuroo followed after with a grin, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“You and Akaashi would make a good couple, yknow.” Kuroo commented as they walked, earning a sigh from Kenma.

“Why do you have to keep mentioning it?” He said, beyond the point of continuously injuring Kuroo for every comment.

“Cause! You haven’t had a crush since Shouyou, and you didn’t even tell me about that until you were already dating. Plus, I want you to know that Akaashi has my approval,” He grinned, bumping their shoulders together as they walked.

“Why should I care if you approve or not?”

“Uh, cause I’m your best friend? I’d want you to approve of someone I was dating,” Kuroo retorted, putting a hand over his heart. Kenma glanced at him quickly, shaking his head a bit as he forced back a smile.

“Fine. I guess I’m glad you approve of my choice in people,” Kenma chuckled softly, adjusting his scarf to cover his mouth and nose better. They were silent for a couple more moments, before Kenma spoke again, “I approve of Bokuto.”

Kuroo’s eyebrows shot up, and he glanced at Kenma for a moment before the corner of his mouth pulled up into a half-smile, “I’d be more happy about that if I had a shot with him. But it’s appreciated nonetheless.”

Kenma just responded with a sigh as they approached the doors to Bokuto and Akaashi’s dorm building. They both let out a breath of relief at the immediate warmth when they stepped inside; the lobby of the building was deserted, and they made their way up to the second floor. Kuroo knocked on the door of the dorm, snorting softly as he heard the thud of what sounded like something heavy hitting the floor before the door opened.

“Hey! You’re here earlier than I thought!” Bokuto opened the door with a grin, moving out of the way to let them inside, “Kenma! Hi!” He grinned, looking over his shoulder at Akaashi for a moment. Kuroo had to fight back a laugh at the eyeroll Bokuto got in return.

“I told you my class let out early, dumbass,” Kuroo snorted a bit, toing off his shoes as Kenma gave a small nod in greeting.

“Kaashi wouldn’t let me check my phone!” Bokuto pouted, crossing his arms.

“Because you get distracted easily. There’s no point in studying if you’re just going to stare at your phone the whole time,” Akaashi commented, setting his textbook aside and standing up, picking a textbook off the floor to set back on the coffee table, “Hello, Kenma.”

“Hi.” Kenma gave a wave, taking his scarf off and hanging it on the seemingly unused coat rack by the door. Kuroo took a moment to look around the dorm; the living area was neat, save for the piles of notes and textbooks spread over the small coffee table. The kitchen seemed neat too (probably because Bokuto wasn’t allowed to use it). It was a little bigger than Kuroo and Kenma’s dorm; it was one of the newer dorms, the ones without years of chipped paint and holes in the walls covered by white nail polish.

“Okay! Study time, lets go!” Bokuto punched at the air, grabbing Kuroo and dragging him towards the couches. Kenma followed a couple steps behind, sitting himself on the floor by the coffee table as Kuroo took a seat on the couch, Bokuto settling himself beside him.

“Kenma, do you want to sit here? I don’t want you to have to be on the floor..” Akaashi commented, moving to stand up. Bokuto elbowed him much too hard in the side, as if Kuroo wasn’t in the same room and wasn’t witnessing the same thing.

“No, it’s alright. You sit,” Kenma assured, a light pink tint to his cheeks as he pulled out his laptop and textbook. Kuroo did the same, pulling his legs up to sit cross legged on the couch as he propped his laptop on his thighs, his notebook open on the arm of the couch. They sat in silence for all of a minute before it was broken.

“This stuff is boring!” Bokuto groaned, closing his textbook and leaning his head against the back of the couch. Akaashi and Kenma both ignored him, eyes focused on their own textbooks.

“What stuff?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow, glancing between his laptop and notes as he copied down the information on the last half of the presentation.

“Developmental psychology,” Bokuto huffed, opening his textbook again, “It sucks,”

“Well if you wanna be a teacher, seems like a good thing to have,” Kuroo commented, earning himself a light whack on the knee.

“That doesn’t make it less boring!”

“Gimme a sec, let me finish this slide, then I’ll help ya,” Kuroo snorted softly, copying down the last sentence before closing his laptop, setting it on the ground and grabbing the textbook out of Bokuto’s lap. He knew basically nothing about psychology, other than weird shit he’d learned going down a hole at 3am on wikipedia, but he figured he wouldn’t have to do too much. He shifted a bit so he was facing Bokuto, leaning back against the arm of the couch, “Alright, I’m gonna quiz ya.”

“Okay, that’ll help!” Bokuto grinned a bit. Kuroo’s lips pulled up into a smile, before he scanned over the page Bokuto had been on.   
“Alright, who proposed the five stages of psychosexual development?”

“Uh..” Bokuto seemed to blank for a moment, “Wasn’t it that guy that everyone hates? The mom fucker?”

Akaashi let out a sigh, while Kuroo just cackled a little, “What’s his name, idiot? I doubt your professor would accept ‘mom fucker’ as an answer on a quiz.”

“He didn’t actually fuck his mom, he proposed the Oedipus-” Akaashi began, cut off by a shush from Kuroo. Akaashi shot him a venomless glare, before looking back at his textbook with a sigh.

Bokuto tapped on his leg with his fingers, thinking for a moment, “Fraud? No, Freud!”

“Yup,” Kuroo nodded a bit, having to fight off a laugh as Bokuto punched the air in excitement.

“Hell yeah! Next question,”

They continued on like that for some time, Kuroo reading off questions from the textbook and Bokuto, more often than not, getting them right. His own studying was completely forgotten; he could do it later. Kuroo would be more than happy to sit for hours watching Bokuto grin and hoot victoriously every time he got a question right. At some point around five, Akaashi glanced up from his textbook.

“Are you two hungry?” Akaashi raised an eyebrow, glancing between Kuroo and Kenma. Kenma shook his head, and Kuroo shrugged in response as Bokuto mumbled a complaint about being excluded from the question.   
“A little. I wouldn’t say no to food,” Kuroo grinned a bit, closing the textbook and setting it aside.

“Oh! We should make that meat I bought!” Bokuto stood up, basically running to the kitchen before anyone could protest.

“Bokuto-san, I don’t feel like cooking,” Akaashi called after him, sighing as he closed his book and set it on the coffee table. Bokuto turned away from the fridge, grinning, but was cut off before he could even say what he was thinking, “And no, you’re  _ not _ cooking them.”

“I can cook,” Kuroo offered, cutting off Bokuto’s whine of protest, and Akaashi raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t have to, Kuroo-san. You’re a guest, we can just order food,” He responded, but Bokuto cut in before Kuroo could assure him he didn’t mind.

“Let him cook! He won’t burn down the kitchen, I promise!”

“I don’t think that was a concern, bro, I’m not you,” Kuroo snickered a bit, standing up, “Seriously, I don’t mind. Plus, I don’t wanna deal with Bo’s pouting.”

Akaashi shot him a slightly suspicious look, glancing at Kenma as if looking for confirmation that Kuroo wasn’t going to destroy their kitchen. Kuroo would have been offended, if it wasn’t a little bit disgustingly cute.

“He’s actually a pretty good cook..” Kenma supplied once he realized Akaashi was looking to him for reassurance, “He’s more competent than he looks.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment and ignore the insult,” Kuroo retorted, following Bokuto to the kitchen. He heard Kenma let out a slight laugh, watching as he set aside his textbook and focused his attention on his computer. He grinned a bit, before raising an eyebrow at Bokuto, “You got a plan for a meal other than just steak?”

“Nope, that’s your job,” Bokuto grinned, hopping up to sit on the counter and just barely managing to avoid whacking his head off the cupboard.

“Nice to know you’re useless as a sous chef,” Kuroo teased, grabbing the packages of meat out of the fridge, “Guess we’re doing beans and baked potato. I’m guessing you don’t have a cast iron pan?” He raised an eyebrow, setting the ingredients on the counter.

“A what?”

“No, we don’t,” Akaashi supplied from the living room. Kuroo looked over to see Akaashi was now sitting on the floor with Kenma, who seemed to have been in the middle of explaining a game to him. He shot Kenma a grin, which his roommate pointedly ignored.

“I didn’t really expect you to, I don’t think anyone just keeps that in their dorm,” He chuckled a little, not mentioning the fact that he and Kenma had one. He wasn’t walking all the way to their dorm just to lug a heavy ass pan back, “These are nice steaks, I don’t wanna use a normal frying pan.”

“We have a miniature grill in the corner cupboard!” Bokuto commented, hopping off the counter before anyone could point out that a miniature grill in the dorms was definitely against the rules. 

“That’ll work,” Kuroo grinned a bit, fighting off a laugh as he saw Akaashi pinch the bridge of his nose like an annoyed middle school teacher.

“If a fire starts, it is your responsibility to put it out,” He stated, clearly aware there was no way of talking either Bokuto or Kuroo out of using the grill.

“No one’s gonna start a fire, ‘Kaashi, don’t be dramatic!” Bokuto retorted, seemingly missing the irony of him telling  _ anyone _ not to be dramatic. Kuroo just laughed.

“We don’t need the grill just yet, I’ll do the vegetables and stuff on the stove. You can put in on the ground by the outlet, there’s no way I’m trying to balance it on the counter,” He snorted a little, opening the package of meat, “You have a ziploc back or anything?”

“In the drawer beside the fridge. Why?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow, sitting back up on the counter once he’d pulled out the grill.

“I’m gonna make a marinade for the steaks, just for half an hour or so while I get the vegetables ready to cook,” Kuroo commented, opening the package.

“Jesus, you know your shit,” Bokuto laughed, earning an eyeroll.

“Of course I do! I told you, I’m a good cook.” He snorted a little, rolling up the sleeves of his hoodie and washing his hands before digging through the cupboards.   
“What do you even use for a marinade?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched Kuroo pull out what he needed.

“You can use a lotta stuff. I normally use garlic, soy sauce, lemon, worcestershire, coke, pepper and olive oil for steak.” Kuroo responded, pulling what he could find out of the cupboards before moving to the fridge.

“Coke? Like, the pop?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, it’s really common. Helps tenderize the meat, and it gives the marinade a liquid consistency so it can actually absorb into the meat I guess,” Kuroo shrugged, “It adds a bit of taste, but not much.”

“You sound like a real chef,” Bokuto laughed a bit, watching as Kuroo started chopping the garlic.

“Excuse you, I am a real chef,” Kuroo put a hand over his chest, feigning offence.

“Right, I forgot.” Bokuto grinned, hopping off the counter, “Show me how to do this shit. You promised to teach me to cook, right?”

He raised an eyebrow, looking at Bokuto with a slight laugh, “I don’t recall promising that,” He joked, but moved to hand him the knife anyways, “Try cutting the garlic. I’m gonna get the base ready,” He searched the cupboards for a bowl, finding one just as he heard Bokuto curse under his breath.

Kuroo immediately turned around, setting the bowl on the counter before moving to grab Bokuto’s hand, “Moron, did you cut yourself?”

“Knife slipped,” He pouted a little. Kuroo shook his head, sighing a bit as he inspected the cut. It was bleeding a little, but it thankfully didn’t seem to go too deep.

“It’s a shallow cut, but if you get any lemon or garlic in there it's gonna start to sting. Where’re your bandaids?”

“Bathroom, there’s a box of them on the counter,” Bokuto was still pouting, glaring at the knife like it was the utensil’s fault. Kuroo had to keep back a laugh, grabbing the bandaids from the bathroom. He wiped the blood off of Bokuto’s hand with a paper towel and wrapped a bandaid around Bokuto’s thumb, “I’ll go sit back on the counter.”

Bokuto was still pouting, and Kuroo could already see him starting to deflate, excitement about helping cook gone like the air out of a balloon.

“Oi, it’s just a cut. That’s not gonna get you out of helping,” He joked, elbowing Bokuto lightly, “Here, I’ll show you how to cut ‘em so you don’t hurt yourself again.”

Bokuto still seemed a little dejected, but perked up when he realized Kuroo didn’t give a shit that he’d screwed up a bit. Kuroo just stood beside him, showing him how to hold his fingers so he didn’t accidentally chop one off, ignoring the flutter in his chest at Bokuto’s grin when he finally got it right.

“Don’t cut off a finger,” He joked, clapping him on the shoulder before he moved to grab the bowl off the counter. Bokuto elbowed him in the side with a slight huff, but he was seemingly too focused on cutting the garlic to actually respond. Kuroo just snorted softly. They worked in silence for a minute, until Bokuto finished the garlic and his concentration evaporated completely.

“So we just.. stuff it all in the bag?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow, looking at the liquid in the bowl with disdain.

“Basically,” Kuroo nodded, dumping the garlic into the bowl and mixing it before he poured it into the bag.

“That looks like sewer water,” Bokuto commented, snickering a bit as he was glared at.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Let me put some decorative flowers petals in to give it some extra points in the beauty category,” He said sarcastically, fighting off a grin as he pulled out the steaks and put them in with the marinade, “It doesn’t have to look pretty, it just has to make the meat taste good.” He closed the bag, setting it in the fridge.

“I wanna stick my finger in it,” Bokuto commented, looking at the little bit of liquid left in the bowl. Kuroo smirked slightly; what was left in the bowl was basically excess oil and spices, and would most definitely taste like shit.

“Do it,” Kuroo smiled innocently, pushing the bowl towards Bokuto. He didn’t even seem suspicious of it, and Kuroo almost felt bad for taking advantage of the blind trust. Bokuto stuck a finger in the bowl, putting it in his mouth before he gagged.

“What the fuck, that tastes like ass,” Bokuto’s face scrunched up as he moved to the sink, rinsing out his mouth as Kuroo cackled with absolute delight.

“No shit, idiot. It doesn’t taste good on its own, especially when you just take the shit that sticks to the bowl. It’s basically pepper, garlic, and oil,” He laughed a bit, moving to rinse out the bowl as Bokuto looked at him with feigned betrayal.

“You know this, and still let me try it? Traitor!” Bokuto elbowed him, earning a flick on the forehead in return.

“You were the one who wanted to try it, I just didn’t stop you,” Kuroo pointed out, drying his hands before moving away in search of a cutting board.

“Still,” Bokuto grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter as he watched Kuroo rifle through the cupboards.

“Who am I to deny your whims?” He raised an eyebrow, grinning as he tossed the cutting board on the counter and grabbed a knife, “Besides, you still would’ve done it if I’d told you not to,” He pointed out, eyes focused on the vegetables so  _ he  _ didn’t lose a finger as he chopped.

“Fair point.”

Kuroo chopped the vegetables up quickly, more than once having to swat Bokuto away as he attempted to snack on the raw beans.

“If you don’t stop, there isn’t gonna be enough to cook!” Kuroo chided, snorting a bit as Koutarou shoved another small handful of beans into his mouth.

“Ish fine! Theresh plenty!” Bokuto spoke around his mouthful off food, shrugging a bit. Kuroo just rolled his eyes, whacking him in the arm again before he dumped the beans and some butter into the frying pan.

“You’ve eaten like half of ‘em,” He laughed a bit, throwing out the scraps, “Kenma, you gonna eat a full potato?” He called, ignoring Bokuto struggling to swallow his food. Serves him right.

“Probably not,” Kenma responded.

“If you don’t, you gotta eat your full steak,” Kuroo chided, feeling like a parent to a picky toddler or something. Kenma just hummed in response, “Akaashi?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll have a full one, thanks,” Akaashi nodded, and Kuroo shot a thumbs up in confirmation before pulling out the bag of potatoes from the cupboard.

“How ‘bout you? You got enough room for a potato with all the fuckin’ beans you’re eating?” Kuroo turned back to look at Bokuto, watching him immediately pull his hand away from the pan of beans like a child caught snooping in a cookie jar. Kuroo shot him a glare, and Bokuto just grinned sheepishly.

“I’ll have two,” Bokuto nodded a bit, and Kuroo snorted.

“Alright, if you insist,” He shrugged, pulling out five potatoes and grabbing a fork, “It’s a good thing you go to the gym so much, with how much you fuckin’ eat.”

“I gotta eat alot to keep up the bulk!” Bokuto whined, hitting his thigh to illustrate his statement. Kuroo just laughed, refusing to let his eyes wander to the other’s legs.

“Whatever you say,” Kuroo grinned, stabbing the potatoes with a fork a couple times before sticking them in the microwave. He set the time to seven minutes, before turning on the stove and dumping some spices in with the vegetables, “You got parmesan?”

“Yeah, why?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow, tossing him a container of grated parmesan from the fridge. Kuroo caught it, setting it beside the stove.

“For the beans.”

“Who puts parmesan on beans?” Bokuto scoffed a bit, earning a kick to the shin as he moved to lean against the counter beside the stove.

“I do, now shut up or you’re not getting any more beans,” Kuroo threatened. Bokuto just laughed, hopping up to sit on the counter again.

“You wouldn’t,”

“Oh, I would,” Kuroo retorted, smacking Bokuto’s hand with the spatula when he tried to reach into the pan, “The stoves on, dumbass, you’re gonna burn yourself.”

“But I’m hungry!” Bokuto whined, tipping his head back to lean it against the cupboard.

“You’ll survive, the steaks’ll be quick.” He retorted, grinning at Bokuto’s pout, “How do you two take your steak?” Kuroo glanced between Bokuto and Akaashi.

“Medium rare for me, thank you,” Akaashi responded at the same time Bokuto said “Rare.”

“Thank god. I might’ve cried if I had to do these fancy ass steaks well done,” Kuroo joked, setting the spatula on the counter, “You want yours normal rare, or rare-rare?” He glanced at Bokuto.

“Uh.. What’s the difference?” Bokuto furrowed his eyebrows.   
“I’ll show you when I’m cooking mine,” He snorted a bit, “I do mine super rare.”

“Kuroo basically eats his steak raw,” Kenma chimed in, closing his laptop and setting it on the coffee table. He and Akaashi joined them in the kitchen a minute later, sitting on the stools beside the kitchen island. He could only assume it was ‘cause Akaashi wanted to be totally sure they weren’t going to burn anything down.

“I do not! That’s how you’re supposed to eat it.” He retorted, pulling the potatoes out of the microwave and setting them aside. He turned the heat down a bit on the vegetables, “Stir these every so often and make sure they don’t burn, I’m gonna start on the steak.” He glanced at Bokuto, grabbing the steaks out of the fridge and kneeling down to light the small grill.

He put the four steaks on, turning the heat up to sear them. He closed it after a minute to let them cook a bit, sitting on the floor. He pulled his own steak off first, putting it on one of the plates and cutting it open.

“That’s how I do mine,” He showed Bokuto the inside, earning a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’ll take mine normal rare. That’s basically raw,” Bokuto snorted a bit, and Kuroo rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, it tastes better.” He retorted, elbowing Bokuto in the side as he split the food between the four plates, “There, it’s done if you wanna grab some forks and knives,” Kuroo glanced at Bokuto as he moved to turn off the grill, leaving it on the floor to cool while they ate.

Somehow, the four of them managed to squish themselves around the small kitchen island to eat, accidentally elbowing each other multiple times as they attempted to cut their steaks.

“This is actually good!” Bokuto spoke around a mouthful of food, earning him an on-purpose elbow to the side from both Akaashi and Kuroo.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full. But yes, it is very good. Thank you, Kuroo-san,” Akaashi chuckled softly, shaking his head as Bokuto pouted.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” Kuroo joked, taking a bite of his steak, “No problem, you don’t gotta thank me.”

They took a lot longer than expected to finish their food. Kuroo had to swat Bokuto away from stealing parts of his steak at least once a minute, not to mention having to make sure Kenma wasn’t dumping food on Akaashi’s plate. It would have been cute, if it didn’t involve Kenma trying to get out of eating an actual meal. Kuroo eventually relented to Bokuto’s pestering, putting the last quarter of his steak on the idiot’s plate and standing to clean his dishes.

Kenma raised an eyebrow in his direction, and Kuroo only gave a half-hearted glare in response when he knew Bokuto was too focused on stuffing his face with meat to notice.

“So you can dump your steak on Bokuto, but I can’t give mine to Akaashi?” Kenma raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I can,” Kuroo retorted, shoving the grill back into the corner cupboard, “I ate breakfast and lunch. How much did you eat today?”

“I ate.”

“Chips don’t count,” Kuroo retorted.

“You really should eat more, Kenma.” Akaashi commented, glancing at him from the corner of his eye, “Even if you aren’t hungry, your body still needs nutrients. Having a small appetite is fine, but not if you fill up on unhealthy things and don’t eat real food,”

“Chips have nutrients,” Kenma argued, rolling his eyes. Despite his protests, he finished off the last of his steak, moving to rinse off his plate a moment later.

“Not as much as actual meals,” Akaashi smiled slightly, shaking his head as he stood to rinse off his own plate, “Kuroo-san, I can clean up. You cooked, you shouldn’t have to clean too.”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice,” Kuroo snorted a bit, moving away from the sink to sit back down. Akaashi rolled his eyes a bit, but he caught sight of a slight smile, “Thanks.”

“I’ll help,” Kenma commented, grabbing a towel to dry off the dishes that Akaashi was washing. Kuroo shot Bokuto a slight grin, shaking his head a bit as the other snorted. Akaashi and Kenma both shot them slightly confused looks, but Kuroo ignored it. No way was he calling Kenma out in front of Akaashi; the risk of Kenma taking revenge was much too high.

“So, what should we do now?” Bokuto asked, handing his empty plate to Akaashi before sitting back down.

“You could go back to studying.” Akaashi deadpanned. Bokuto just groaned, resting his elbows on the counter.

“We studied for like, an hour!” He whined, stretching his arms over his head, “Oh! We should watch a movie or something.”

“I have a quiz tomorrow, so if you’re going to watch a movie, do it in your room.” Akaashi said, obviously realizing that getting Bokuto to study again was a lost cause. Bokuto just grinned, standing up and pulling Kuroo off his stool.

“Sounds good to me!” He grinned, “Kenma, you gonna stay out here and study?”

“Yeah, I have an assignment to do anyways..” He responded, nodding. Kuroo raised an eyebrow, shooting Kenma a grin; he knew full well he had no assignments. Kenma glared in return, refusing to verbally acknowledge the stupid grin on his face.

“Alright, have fun then,” Bokuto grinned, before pulling Kuroo out of the kitchen and towards his room. He shot one last wink at Kenma before he was pulled into Bokuto’s room, raising an eyebrow. Yeah, this was a lot more like he’d expected the dorm to look.

It wasn’t overly messy. There were a couple hoodies on the ground, and a chair piled with even more clothes. Every surface seemed cluttered with objects; picture frames, papers. There were a couple posters tacked onto the walls, too. It was frankly exactly what he would have imagined Bokuto’s bedroom to look.

“So, what movie?” Bokuto hopped on his bed, leaning against the headboard as he pulled out his laptop. Kuroo moved to sit beside him, a couple inches of space between them.

“Hm..” Kuroo thought for a minute, ignoring the way his brain kind of short circuited when Bokuto shuffled closer, their legs and shoulders pressed together as he set the laptop on both of their thighs, “How about like, Sharknado or something? One that’s so bad it’s good.”

Bokuto grinned, “Hell yeah! I knew you’d have good taste in movies,” He opened his laptop, pulling up the movie as he leaned into Kuroo’s side. Kuroo bit his lip, eyes trained on the screen as the movie started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave comments/kudos/etc. if u guys want to!
> 
> *come yell at me on tumblr @kuidore!!*


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo's a sappy bitch, the much anticipated frat party, and famous last words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i finished this just now (3:30am) but i feel like the tired writing captures the vibe of being at a frat party so fuck it no editing we die like idiots
> 
> in all realness though im actually pretty happy with this chapter, so i hope u guys like it!! its way longer than i meant it to be but its fine

Kuroo woke up on Thursday morning to the sound of an alarm that most definitely wasn’t his own. For a moment he was disoriented, his brain struggling to process where he was and what was going on. He cracked open an eye, pain shooting from his neck to his shoulder before finally settling in his lower back when his body started to regain feeling.

_ We must’ve fallen asleep. _ He thought to himself as his brain finally started (somewhat) working again. Kuroo finally opened both his eyes, sitting up properly and wincing as his entire body seemed to protest the movement. The night before, after they’d finished Sharknado, the two had committed themselves to binging every single bad movie they could find on Netflix. Kuroo could only assume they’d finally fallen asleep sometime after midnight; he hadn’t really been paying attention to the time.

Kuroo’s leg had somehow made it’s way over Bokuto’s, his shoulder bearing the majority of his body weight in the odd half-sitting position he’d taken against the headboard. Bokuto seemed to be in a similar situation, his head leaning on Kuroo’s shoulder and his body twisted uncomfortably against the headboard. It seemed they’d both made an attempt to move from their upright positions in their sleep, something that had only resulted in tangled blankets, a shit ton of pain, and Bokuto’s laptop balancing dangerously close to the edge of the bed.

Kuroo untangled himself as much as he could from the mess of limbs and blankets they had become, rubbing his eyes as he winced at the pain that shot through his body again. Almost blinded by the bright light coming through the window, he reached over to whack Bokuto, one hand still shielding his eyes from the light. Somehow, the incessant hooting coming from the nightstand on Bokuto’s side of the bed hadn’t managed to wake him up yet.

“Turn ya damn alarm off, fuckhead,” Kuroo grumbled, reaching forward to stop Bokuto’s laptop from falling off the bed once his eyes had adjusted to the light. He had no idea what time it was; judging by the sunlight, he guessed it had to be at least 9. He whacked Bokuto again, a little harder this time, when all he got in response was an incoherent groan. Satisfied when the sound of the alarm was finally cut off, Kuroo swung his legs off the side of the bed, ignoring the painful protest from his body.

“What time did we fall asleep?” Bokuto muttered. Kuroo glanced over his shoulder, watching as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. For a moment, he struggled to find his voice; Bokuto’s hair gel had obviously worn off, his hair down around his face in a mess of black and white instead of styled in his usual owl-like fashion. Something about the scene before him - Bokuto, bathed in morning light, still tangled in blankets as he rubbed at his eyes - seemed so ridiculously domestic his chest tightened up. He managed to look away when Bokuto brought his hands away from his face, clearing his throat as he pushed away the thought.

“No clue,” Kuroo snorted, standing up and stretching his arms above his head, a low hum of satisfaction escaping as the sound of his back popping sounded through the room, “I’m guessing like, 3 or 4?”

“Christ,” Bokuto laughed, and Kuroo turned just in time to watch him lay back on the bed, an arm over his face, “I don’t even remember anything about that last movie.”

“You passed out like, halfway through it. I’m pretty sure there’s drool on my hoodie,” Kuroo snorted, pointing to the damp spot on his shoulder. He hadn’t had the heart to shove Bokuto’s head off his shoulder before he’d passed out - despite the drool, he had been more than happy to let the sleeping man curl up against him.

He almost felt a little guilty about not getting up and leaving once Bokuto had fallen asleep, but it seemed Bokuto saw no issue with the fact that they’d woken up cuddling. Kuroo didn’t know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing; all he knew was that dealing with a sleepy Bokuto was bad for his heart.

“I’m not sorry, you’re a comfortable pillow,” Bokuto shot him a grin, moving to sit up once he seemingly decided he didn’t feel like going back to bed. Dear god, he was cute.  _ Get a grip, dumbass. _

“Oh? Nice to know,” He snickered. A moment later, he remembered Kenma, and immediately grabbed his phone, “Fuck, I forgot. I’m hoping Kenma didn’t walk home on his own…”

“He didn’t,”

Kuroo nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice, phone hitting the (thankfully, carpeted) floor as his head whipped towards the door. Akaashi raised an eyebrow, seemingly fighting back a smile at Bokuto and Kuroo’s surprise.

“He’s still sleeping, I let him take my bed.” Akaashi explained, and Kuroo breathed a sigh of relief. As much as he knew Kenma could more than take care of himself, he also knew that walking alone in the dark made his best friend’s anxiety spike like hell. He would’ve felt like shit if he’d made Kenma leave on his own.

“Did you share the bed?” Bokuto grinned, raising an eyebrow. Akaashi simply ignored the question and shut the door again, but Kuroo swore he caught a slight blush before he had turned away.

“Well, there’s our answer,” Kuroo snickered, picking his phone off the floor and slipping it in his pocket.

“Operation Matchmakers is going very well,” Bokuto stood up with a wide smile, stretching his arms above his head as his joints popped. Kuroo’s eyes flicked to the exposed strip of skin between Bokuto’s shirt and track pants, before promptly staring at the wall like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“You suck at coming up with names,” Kuroo joked, hoping Bokuto didn’t notice his wandering eyes. Bokuto seemed to be preoccupied rifling through his closet to notice, thank god, “They’re supposed to be discrete, not tell everyone who hears it what the plan is.”

“You come up with a better one then, dipshit,” Bokuto stuck his tongue out at him. Kuroo just rolled his eyes, making his way towards the door as Bokuto pulled out some clothes.

“It’s too early, talk to me later and I’ll have a better one,” He joked, checking the time on his phone. 9:30. “I’m gonna go wake up Kenma, he’s got a class in half an hour.”

“I’m gonna hop in the shower,” Bokuto nodded, shooting him a grin, “Thanks for helping me study.”

“Thanks for letting me watch bad movies and pass out in your dorm,” Kuroo retorted, smiling.

“You’re welcome to come over and pass out in my dorm whenever you need, bro,” Bokuto laughed, before he stepped into the bathroom connecting his and Akaashi’s bedrooms. For a moment, Kuroo short-circuited, before he brushed off every unholy interpretation of that offer his brain could come up with. He stepped out of the room a moment later, snorting as he saw Kenma curled on the couch with a cup of tea in his hand and his hood up, looking very annoyed to be awake.

“How the hell’d you manage to get him up so quick?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow at Akaashi as he stepped out of the kitchen.

“Took the blankets away.” Akaashi shot him an amused smile in response, “There’s a pot of coffee in the kitchen if you’d like some.”

“Smart man,” Kuroo grinned, shooting Akaashi a finger gun before he made his way towards the kitchen, “Coffee sounds really fucking good, thanks. We gotta go soon though, the gremlin has a class at 10.”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here, asshole,” Kenma grumbled as Kuroo grabbed a mug from the cupboard, earning a snort from Akaashi.

“It can speak,” He fake gasped, pouring himself a cup of coffee and dumping an ungodly amount of sugar in it. Kuroo didn’t even wait for it to cool, downing about half the mug in a single sip.  _ Nothing like a burnt ass tongue to wake you up in the morning. _

They left about ten minutes later, Kenma still barely awake and dragging his feet as they left the dorm building. Kuroo was still rubbing at his neck, attempting to work out the kink that had formed sometime while he slept.

“So, you and Akaashi shared his bed, huh?” Kuroo broke the silence a couple minutes into their walk, earning an immediate fist to the side.

“Maybe. So? You and Bokuto shared a bed too.” Kenma muttered, finally pulling his hood off his face. They both looked like they were doing the walk of shame or something; horrible bed head, wrinkled clothes. No one even shot them a second glance.

“We passed out watching a movie. You two were in the living room, you moved to his bedroom voluntarily.” Kuroo pointed out, grinning. Kenma rolled his eyes a bit, but a small smile pulled at his lips.

“Whatever.” He let out a small huff. Surprisingly, Kenma was the one to break the silence after another minute, “I had fun. I’m glad you got me to come.”

“Holy shit.. Wait, say that again and let me record it!” Kuroo joked, pulling out his phone. He shoved it back in his pocket with a grin when Kenma glared at him, “I’m joking, don’t look at me like that. I’m glad you and Akaashi are getting along.”

“So am I.”

~

The rest of the day consisted of Kuroo curled on the couch, switching between bitching at Bokuto to focus on his classes and playing animal crossing (he was very salty about the lack of hairstyle matching his own, but that wasn’t the point). He pulled himself away from the game just long enough to finish his notes from the day before, knowing he would most definitely not be doing them anytime on Friday or over the weekend. Aside from that, he spent the entire day being totally unproductive. Kenma bitched at him for screwing with the layout of their island when he got back from class, and it was just after 3 when Kuroo was finally kicked off the switch so Kenma could play. He protested a bit, but finally handed over the controller, pouting dramatically as he stood up.

“Since I’ve been so  _ rudely _ deprived of my game time,” He put a hand over his heart, ignoring Kenma’s eyeroll, “I’m gonna take a shower.”

“Good, you smell like shit.” Kenma retorted, eyes focused on the television as Kuroo continued his dramatics.

“That’s rude!”

“Careful, you’re starting to sound like Oikawa,”

Kuroo fake gagged, as if the notion of being anything like Oikawa completely disgusted him, before grabbing a towel from his room and stepping into the bathroom. He started up the shower, pulling off his shirt and pants before the sound of his phone buzzing distracted him.

**Bok-hoot-o** **_3:15pm_ **

_ NO ONE FORGET THE PARTY TOMORROW _

**Bok-hoot-o** **_3:15pm_ **

_ ITS AT TERU’S FRAT ILL SEND THE LOCATION BUT I EXPECT EVERYONE THERE AND WILL BE HURT IF U ARE NOT THERE _

Kuroo had honestly forgotten about the party; Bokuto had mentioned it after the game on Monday, but he hadn’t said anything about it since. No way in hell was Kuroo missing out on it, though. He wanted an excuse to get drunk anyways, and his lack of classes on Saturday made it perfect timing. He flipped off the shower switch, knowing that trying to text in the shower was a very bad idea (last time it had ended in a lot of water damage and the need for a completely new phone).

**Noya-oya-oya** **_3:16pm_ **

_ U HAD ME AT PARTY _

**Baldy** **_3:16pm_ **

_ WHAT NOYA SAID _

**Sugar Momma** **_3:16pm_ **

_ Sounds like fun why not _

**Dad-chi** **_3:17pm_ **

_ Nice so im stuck babysitting everyone _

**Noya-oya-oya** **_3:17pm_ **

_ yeah thats ur job ur the dad _

**Noya-oya-oya** **_3:17pm_ **

_ ASAHI’S IN CLASS BUT I’LL MAKE HIM COME HE DOESNT HAVE A CHOICE  _

**Dad-chi** **_3:17pm_ **

_ I AM NO ONES FATHER. _

**Baldy** **_3:18pm_ **

_ ur nickname says otherwise _

**Dad-chi** **_3:18pm_ **

_ I DONT KNOW HOW TO CHANGE IT _

**Bok-hoot-o** **_3:18pm_ **

_ FIGHT ABOUT BEING A PARENT LATER I NEED CONFIRMATION U ARE ALL GONNA B THERE _

**Oink-awa** **_3:18pm_ **

_ iwachan and i’ll be there!!!!! _

**Iwa the Hedgehog** **_3:19pm_ **

_ i dont remember agreeing to that. _

**Oink-awa** **_3:19pm_ **

_ u aint got a choice babe _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:20pm_ **

_ *gags* _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:20pm_ **

_ ill be there _

**Tsukki** **_3:21pm_ **

_ not a chance. _

**Sho-yoooo** **_3:21pm_ **

_ I’LL COME _

**Kuro =^._.^=** **_3:22pm_ **

_ tsukki ur going u aint got a choice either _

**Bok-hoot-o** **_3:23pm_ **

_ HELL YEAH OKAY GREAT _

Kuroo snorted a little; he didn’t doubt the party would end in a total shitshow, but he was almost looking forward to it. It had been a long time since he’d gone to a frat party, especially with his entire friend group. Most of the time, Kenma and Tsukki found ways out of it. He knew he could bribe Kenma with Akaashi, and he was pretty sure Tsukishima would end up at the party regardless of whether he wanted to go or not. Someone would eventually drag him along.

When he was sure the groupchat was void of any more important information, he set his phone aside, turning the shower back on and climbing beneath the scalding stream of water.

~

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_7:50pm_ **

_ Pregame??? _

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_7:50pm_ **

_ U read my damn mind _

“Kenma, lets go! I’m pregaming at Bo’s, so unless you wanna walk there by yourself we gotta leave now,” He called over his shoulder. He hadn’t even bothered trying to talk Kenma into going to the party. Apparently Akaashi had decided to stay home as well (only after making Bokuto promise not to get arrested and telling him he would not be the one to post his bail), and had apparently invited Kenma over to his and Bokuto’s dorm for a date.

Well, Kenma  _ said _ it wasn’t a date, but Kuroo knew better. Kenma was actually getting dressed as opposed to going in sweats, and he was almost entirely sure he’d walked by the bathroom to see his old flat iron sitting on the counter (the thing had gotten shoved under the sink the moment Kuroo realized even heat couldn’t get his hair to lay flat, and just resulted in him looking like one of those 90s troll dolls if it got drowned in hair gel). It was most definitely a date.

“I’m coming, shut up,” Kenma grumbled, stepping out of his bedroom. He attempted to look nonchalant, fidgeting with the inside of his hoodie pocket.

“You look fine. Akaashi’s seen you in the morning, he obviously doesn’t like you for your looks,” He teased, managing to dodge the fist that immediately flew in his direction, “Seriously, you look good. You guys are eating takeout at his apartment and playing animal crossing, it's not like there’s a dress code.”

Not that Kuroo was one to talk. He liked to put effort into his looks, sure, but he may have gone a little overboard for something as informal as a damn frat party. Cologne, hair gel to keep his hair from going frizzy, an expensive pair of ripped jeans he’d bought when he was drunk. Top it off with a fake leather jacket that was gonna do shit all to keep him warm solely for the aesthetic of it, and him spending fifteen minutes digging through the box on his desk in search of piercings and a chain that all matched (he’d even replaced his usual clear tongue stud with an actual metal one - that was how much effort he was putting in). Kuroo was 100% certifiably trying way too hard to impress his crush. Hell, he’d even whipped out one of the fancy face masks he and Kenma had bought on a whim last week and hadn’t actually used yet.

If he was any less impressed with the way he looked, he would’ve thought he was both insane and a little pathetic. But he looked hot, which most definitely made all the shit worth it.

“Whatever..” Kenma muttered, pulling on his shoes and jacket with a huff, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Kuroo grinned, opening the door and fake-bowing like a prince. Kenma rolled his eyes, fighting off a snort as he stepped out of the dorm.

“I assume you’re going to do something stupid. Just don’t go and get you and Bokuto arrested, Keiji’s already said he isn’t paying bail.” Kenma commented as they stepped out into the cold, pulling his hood over his head.

“How could you ever think I’d do something stupid?” Kuroo put a hand over his heart. Kenma shot him an unimpressed look.

“You do stupid shit enough on your own. Add Bokuto, your attempts to impress him, and alcohol, and you’ll be ten - no, a hundred times worse.”

“Fine, fine! I promise I will not get arrested.” Kuroo put his hands up in a mock form of surrender, before moving to wrap his arms around himself in an attempt to keep warm. He was really starting to regret choosing style over warmth.  _ For the aesthetic, it is for the aesthetic. _

“Good.” Kenma snorted a little, walking a little faster as they neared the dorm building.

Kuroo barely got a chance to knock once before the door swung open, and he was pulled into the dorm.

“Holy shit, it took you long enough!” Bokuto complained, immediately pulling Kuroo into the kitchen. He gave a wave and a grin to Akaashi in greeting, before focusing on the obviously excited idiot in front of him. Bokuto looked pretty damn good, and that wasn’t Kuroo’s inherent bias talking. He was pretty sure it was the first time he’d seen the other man in pants other than track pants.

“It took us five minutes to get here!” Kuroo rolled his eyes, grinning as he saw two shot glasses and a bottle of tequila already sitting on the counter.

“Still too long,” Bokuto grinned, handing Kuroo one of the already filled glasses.

“So I’m guessing this is a ‘no chasers, we die like idiots’ situation?” He grinned a bit, looking at the clear liquid. It was cheap shit like he expected, and he knew it’d burn like hell (not that he had any complaints - didn’t matter what it is, as long as it gave him a buzz).

“Of course, how else are we supposed to get the full experience of throwing up in a ditch later?” Bokuto grinned, downing his shot without even flinching. Kuroo was a little impressed. He downed his own shot a moment later, nose scrunching involuntarily at the burning sensation in his chest as the alcohol went down his throat.

“Pretty sure there’s no ditches this far into the city. We can probably find an empty keg or a nice spot of concrete, though,” Kuroo laughed, voice a little raspy. It’d been a while since he’d actually gone straight in on shots without being drunk beforehand.

“Maybe we can dig one. Teru’ll probably have a shovel,” Bokuto grinned, pouring them both another shot. Kuroo downed it quickly, the burn a little less intense that time.

“He seems like the type,” Kuroo joked. Bokuto bumped their shoulders together, laughter booming through the dorm. They both downed one more shot before Bokuto tossed the shot glasses into the sink (literally - thankfully they seemed to be made of clear plastic, so they didn’t have to spent the next ten minutes trying to clear shards of glass out of the sink), tucking the bottle of tequila away in one of the cupboards.

“The house is off campus, the school isn’t a huge fan of the whole frat party thing. You wanna take a cab?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow, making his way towards the door and pulling his coat on.

“I’m pretty sure we’re both past the point of DD-ing, and I sure as hell ain’t walking.” Kuroo grinned, pulling on his shoes. He looked over his shoulder, fighting off a grin as he watched Kenma setting up their switch on Bokuto and Akaashi’s tv, “Be good kids, don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!”

“So basically, we can do anything,” Akaashi retorted. Kuroo and Bokuto scoffed in unison, cries of ‘kaashi!’ and ‘rude’ drowned out by each other, “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Yeah, what Keiji said,” Kenma piped up. Kuroo felt a weight rest across his shoulders, and he was quickly steered out the door of the apartment by a grinning Bokuto.

“No promises!” He called over his shoulder, slamming the door behind them. Kuroo ordered an uber, the two of them sprinting towards the road in an attempt to avoid the cold once the guy showed up. They climbed into the back of the car laughing, saying a quick greeting to the driver as they pulled away from campus.

It was only a couple minute car ride before they pulled up in front of the house, but Kuroo was already feeling the tingle in his limbs from the shots. The ground was basically shaking under their feet when they stepped out of the car, thanking the driver. The entire driveway (and a good chunk of the front lawn) was packed with cars, and about five more had pulled up by the time Kuroo and Bokuto got into the house.

They were immediately swallowed by the crowd. Bokuto had a firm hold on his hand, pulling him through the crowded living room and towards what Kuroo assumed to be the kitchen. It was a little quieter, but not much; it wasn’t as packed as the living room, but it seemed a good chunk of their weirdly-blended friend group had all made their way inside.

“Finally!” Oikawa basically yelled when they stepped inside; he was fucked, Kuroo could already tell. The idiot most definitely wasn’t a light weight, but he also had no idea when to stop. Kuroo was pretty sure the half-empty bottle of vodka sitting on the counter was his, “Took you two long enough!”

“Excuse you! We’re here on time,” Bokuto grinned, pulling Terushima into one of those straight boy man-hugs. You know the exact one, don’t pretend like you don’t.

“Yeah, the rest of you were just early,” Kuroo grinned, glancing over the counters overflowing with just about every type of alcohol there was, “Damn, you’re running a whole bar from your kitchen,” He shot a grin at Terushima, grabbing a bottle of fireball and a plastic cup.”

“What’s the point of a party if we’ve just got kegs to drink?” Terushima grinned, elbowing Kuroo as he grabbed the bottle from him,

“Good point-” Kuroo began, lifting his cup to take a sip. He was interrupted a moment later by Terushima shamelessly sticking his finger in his mouth, pulling his jaw down to see into his mouth so suddenly he almost spilled fireball all over himself.

“What the fuck? Since when do you have a tongue piercing?” He basically yelled. Apparently, the word ‘piercing’ was enough to distract Bokuto from the beer he was attempting to shotgun. Kuroo snorted a bit, wiping his mouth once Terushima removed his fingers from his mouth.

“I’ve had it for years, it was my first piercing,” He grinned, downing a sip of his drink.

“What the hell? How did I not notice that?” Bokuto basically shouted, nearly knocking over Terushima as he basically jumped on top of him. Daichi and Iwaizumi both shot him amused looks, which he ignored.

“I wear a clear rubber one most of the time. My old job didn’t like piercings showing, and I’m just too lazy to change it at this point.” He answered, sticking his tongue out to show Bokuto the metal ball resting against his tongue.

“Hell yeah, we match!” Terushima whacked him on the shoulder, before immediately becoming distracted when Lev, Hinata, and Kageyama stepped into the kitchen. On their heels were Noya, Tanaka, and a very tired-looking Asahi. Kuroo sorta felt bad for him, but Asahi’d kinda signed up for it at this point. 

“Holy shit, it looks cool. You should wear an actual stud in it more often,” Bokuto grinned, pouring about six shots worth of vodka in a cup before topping it up with maybe a quarter can of cranberry ginger ale.

_ Well, guess I’m going back to wearing an actual piercing. _

“I know. It adds to the whole ‘mysterious bad boy’ vibe,” Kuroo joked, a fluttering feeling most definitely not related to the alcohol settling in his stomach. He downed another gulp of fireball to try and chase it off.

“Sure, whatever you say,” Bokuto laughed, taking a sip of his vodka with a splash of cranberry, “How’s it feel?”

“Why don’t you find out?” Kuroo’s mouth moved before his filter could step in. Damn, those shots were hitting harder than he’d thought. Bokuto raised his eyebrows, and Kuroo couldn’t actually bring himself to care about the stupid comment he’d let slip. A part of him hoped Bokuto took him up on the offer right there.

Before he could respond, his head snapped towards Terushima and Noya, who were calling for him to do a keg stand. Bokuto was across the kitchen in a flash, cup of vodka left abandoned on the counter. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that Bokuto hadn’t gotten a chance to answer.

“Smooth,” Suga teased, elbowing him lightly as he grabbed himself another drink. Suga was most definitely a light weight; Kuroo was just surprised he wasn’t completely glued to Daichi’s side by this point.

“Mention it again, and I’ll tell Daichi all of your secrets,” Kuroo retorted. Suga just grinned, grabbing his drink and moving to watch the shitshow of drunk keg stands about to begin.

“Kuroo! You do one too, see who can do longer!” Noya yelled, grin looking a little too innocent as he waved Kuroo over. Damn little devil. Kuroo would’ve said no, if it hadn’t a) been turned into a competition and b) been turned into a competition against  _ Bokuto.  _ The fact that he was already getting tipsy wasn’t a big help there.

“Fine,” Kuroo downed the last of his fireball, tossing out his cup as he walked up to the kegs. Noya and Tanaka positioned themselves on either side of Bokuto’s keg, while Terushima and Kageyama stood beside Kuroo’s.

“First one to stop has to down a cement mixer!” Terushima yelled. Kuroo wasn’t entirely sure what a cement mixer was, but he was pretty sure he didn’t wanna find out. Didn’t sound too appetizing. 

“Fine by me. You’re going down,” Kuroo grinned, pulling off his jacket and tossing it over one of the bar stools. Bokuto just flipped him off, positioning his hands on the top handles of the keg. Kuroo did the same, both of them lifting themselves into a handstand. Kuroo felt two pairs of hands close over his thighs to hold him up, putting his mouth on the tap as Oikawa yelled at them to start.

Kuroo lasted about fifteen seconds before both his stomach and lungs were screaming at him to stop, pulling his mouth off the tap as Kageyama and Terushima helped him stand. Bokuto pulled off a couple seconds later, grinning proudly as he wiped the beer off his face.

“Shut the fuck up,” Was Kuroo’s only response. Terushima just grinned, grabbing a shot glass.

“Guess you’re stuck with the cement mixer,” He grinned. Kuroo watched in horror as Terushima poured irish cream and fucking  _ lime juice _ into the shot glass. He could already feel his gag reflex jumping in his throat.

“No way in hell am I drinking that. I’ll fucking throw up!” Kuroo groaned when the shot was set in front of him.

“You lost, you take the punishment.” Terushima grinned.

“Take it quick before the damn thing curdles or something,” Iwaizumi yelled at him. Kuroo’s face scrunched up as he picked up the shot, downing it quick in the hopes the abomination of a shot would pass right by his taste buds.

Kuroo was not that lucky of a man.

Laughter echoed in the kitchen as Kuroo straight up gagged, immediately grabbing Bokuto’s cup of basically straight vodka to wash it down. He was just thankful he didn’t throw up.

“I officially hate your guts,” He shot a fake glare at Bokuto, who just laughed and whacked him in the head. From the corner of his eye he saw Oikawa open his mouth to say something, only to watch in relief as Iwaizumi clapped a hand over his boyfriend's mouth in an attempt to shut him up. Whatever Oikawa was about to say, Kuroo had a feeling it wouldn’t end well for him. He gave the kitchen a quick once over, ignoring Kageyama and Hinata fighting over who got the last palm bay as he looked over who of their friends had actually shown up, “Did no one drag Tsukki along?”

“Him and Yamaguchi are in the basement,” Terushima laughed, tipping a bottle of vodka straight into his mouth, “Tsukishima started complaining the second he got in.”

“Yup, sounds like Tsukki,” He grinned, leaning against the counter as he poured himself another drink. He was pretty sure the god awful taste of cream, alcohol, and lime would never fully leave his mouth.

“What? Did you not like the cement mixer?” Terushima joked, watching as Kuroo downed a mouthful of whiskey in an attempt to chase off the taste.

“Not even a little. Anyone who willingly drinks those damn things is the type of person to fist fight god in a taco bell parking lot,” Kuroo snorted into his cup. Terushima burst out laughing, leaning against the counter for support.

“Jesus christ, I have never been angrier about not getting to meet someone earlier than I am with you,” The blond grinned widely, sitting down in one of the empty stools. Kuroo watched from the corner of his eye as Bokuto, Noya, and Tanaka all basically sprinted out of the kitchen, obviously following the yells of ‘beer pong!’ coming from the dining room. For a moment, Kuroo expected Terushima to follow, but he just glanced towards the dining room before looking back at him. The kitchen cleared out a bit a moment later, a couple of their friends following after the three idiots to watch someone get their ass kicked in beer pong. Iwaizumi and Oikawa were being disgustingly cute by themselves, leaving Kuroo and Terushima laughing so hard tears leaked from their eyes at the kitchen island.

“You’ve gotta be shtting me, there’s no fucking way you guys did that!” Terushima choked out between bouts of laughter as Kuroo recounted the first time he’d managed to get himself arrested.

“No shit, I’m being totally serious! Drunk off our asses, first year, Oikawa and I went out to one of the bars in the city to celebrate midterms being over. We get totally shitfaced, no critical thinking, and the zoo was right there! What kind of person wouldn’t immediately try to break in?” Kuroo cackled, leaning back and nearly falling off the bar stool, sending both him and Terushima into another laughing fit.

“Holy shit. Iwaizumi must’ve had a fucking aneurism,” Terushima struggled to catch his breath, elbows against the counter. Kuroo was starting to feel a little dizzy, having switched to drinking just pop about ten minutes prior.

“Oh, you have no idea. I genuinely thought he was going to strangle us both. Kenma was worse though, he whacked me with a couch pillow the second I got back to the dorm,” Kuroo grinned, grabbing a water bottle off the counter. The carbonation was starting to make him a little nauseous.   
“Seriously? Kenma seemed so chill,” Terushima shook his head, “Then again, I thought Akaashi was chill when I first met him. He can be scary as shit when he’s pissed.”

“Looks can be pretty deceiving,” Kuroo laughed, “I haven’t seen Akaashi mad yet, and I’m seriously hoping it stays that way.”

“Just be prepared to run, that’s all I’m gonna say,” Terushima grinned, leaning a little closer. They lapsed into silence for a moment, Kuroo ignoring the feeling of eyes roaming his face before Terushima broke the silence, “Listen, you’re really fucking hot and I kinda wanna get this on the table off the bat. Can I kiss you? Not a feelings thing, just.. I really wanna hook up with you or something.”

Kuroo was stunned into silence for a moment, looking at Terushima like he had three heads. The blonde just grinned, raising an eyebrow. For a moment, Kuroo hesitated. He probably - no, definitely - should say no. Even if Terushima said it wasn’t a feelings thing, he was already in way too deep with the whole Bokuto thing. The last thing he needed was some sort of fuckbuddy situation to confuse him even more.

However, his drunk brain didn’t seem to process the possible consequences of his actions. Instead, he reached around, a hand at the back of Terushima’s neck as he pressed their lips together. Terushima seemed surprised, but it didn’t take even a second for him to reciprocate. The counter was digging painfully into Kuroo’s ribs, but he really didn’t care. It’d been a hell of a long time since he’d kissed anyone, and his body was more than happy for the attention.

The kiss lasted barely a minute, both of them pulling away with red lips and breathing heavily. The only thing Kuroo could think of was how different it would have felt if Bokuto had been on the other side of the table instead of Terushima.

“Maybe save the hookup thing for another time,” Kuroo muttered, ignoring the feeling of eyes (definitely Oikawa’s) burning holes into his skull. At that point, he really didn’t have the intention of actually hooking up with Terushima, but it was good to know it was apparently an option. Terushima just grinned, seeming more than happy with just the kiss.

“Offer’ll still be on the table,” Terushima moved to stand up, filling his cup up with more liquor. Kuroo was a little concerned for the guy’s liver, “Wanna go watch beer pong? Bo’s a master, and from the volume I’d guess he’s playing now,”   
“Sounds good,” Kuroo grinned a bit, thankful for the lack of awkwardness as he grabbed his water bottle and followed Terushima out of the kitchen. A game finished up just as they stepped out, and Kuroo watched as Bokuto threw his hands in the air and let out a shout of victory. He couldn’t help but laugh at the display of excitement.

“Bro! There you are, Tanaka ditched! Be my partner,” Bokuto caught sight of him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him towards the table. The room spun slightly, but Kuroo just caught his balance and grinned.

“I’ve been in the kitchen, the fuck you mean ‘here I am’?” Kuroo laughed, elbowing Bokuto in the side. He got an elbow in return, as Bokuto waved off his statement.

“Whatever, just don’t suck,” Bokuto laughed.

“I’m great at beer pong, thank you very much!” He shook his head, fake offence leaking into his tone as he watched Kageyama and Hinata set their cups back up on the other side of the table, bickering all the while.  _ Cute. _

They spent the next few hours cycling between dancing horribly to the american songs playing through the speakers in the living room, playing beer pong, and inhaling just about any food or alcohol they could find in the kitchen once Terushima gave them the green light to look for snacks. At one point Kuroo and Bokuto, followed closely by Tanaka, Noya, Hinata, and even Kageyema, had gone downstairs to try and drag Tsukishima and Yamaguchi upstairs to be social. That had ended in Kuroo and Noya both seeing and hearing more than either of them had probably ever hoped for of the blond and his boyfriend (Kuroo now had zero doubts about whether or not the two were actually together). If he was gonna forget anything from tonight, god let it be that.

People started to leave sometime around midnight, Daichi and Suga being the first out the door once the silver haired man had basically passed out in Daichi’s lap. Oikawa and Iwaizumi were next, and eventually most of them broke off on their own. Kuroo and Bokuto ended up on the front lawn, freezing their asses off as they passed Kuroo’s vape between them.

“Y’know, we should go do something,” Bokuto piped up, watching in fascination as rings of vapour came out of Kuroo’s mouth.

“It’s like, one in the morning,” Kuroo laughed, passing the device to Bokuto when he held out his hand, “No where’s open except for bars and clubs, and there’s no point going there. They’d cut us off right away,”

“Fair point,” Bokuto laughed, blowing smoke out his nose with a grin. Kuroo glanced, over, teeth digging into the inside of his cheek as he admired the other man’s side profile for a moment that felt like it was an eternity long. The outline of his features were sharp against the dark sky, moonlight showcasing the bright red tint of alcohol flush across his cheeks and nose. Kuroo was sure he didn’t look much better; his face was probably even redder, considering he was paler. His eyes were a striking gold.

Bokuto had always seemed to emit an inherent sort of light, a light you could feel but not see. But right now, features lit up in drunken excitement by the bright moonlight, he practically glowed. Kuroo sorta wished he had a photographic memory or something; the sight of Bokuto attempting to blow smoke rings through his smile was definitely something he wanted to burn in his brain so he could study every feature and smile line.

Yeah, he was definitely in the ‘sappy’ stage of being drunk. He attempted to wash the rush of feelings away with another gulp of tequila.

“There’s a public pool about a block away,” Bokuto spoke up again, trading the vape for the bottle of tequila. Kuroo raised an eyebrow, shooting Bokuto an incredulous look.

“It’s cold as fuck out! It’s probably frozen over or some shit,” Kuroo laughed, a headrush hitting him as he inhaled from the divide again. Bokuto shoved him lightly, nearly making him fall off the front deck.

“So? C’mon, we can rip over, take a quick swim to sober up and then head home!” Bokuto grinned, seemingly set on his plan of getting hypothermia.

“We don’t even have swimsuits!”

“We can just go in our boxers! It’ll be fun!” Bokuto insisted, standing up and grabbing Kuroo by the hand. He didn’t even bother trying to fight it, just grinning. It did sound pretty fun; like those polar dip videos that used to go viral. Bokuto hooted in victory as he pulled Kuroo away from the frat house and still-blaring music, both of them having to lean on each other for support as they walked. They’d both thrown up about a half hour ago (not in a ditch, to Bokuto’s disappointment), so they were starting to sober up, but that didn’t mean either of them were in a state of mind to think about how jumping in an outdoor pool when the temperature was in the single digits wasn’t the smartest idea. The walk there was a struggle in itself; they were lucky neither of them had tripped or something, cause if one of them went down they were both gonna end up knocked out on the sidewalk.

They both somehow managed to climb the fence surrounding the pool after about five minutes of attempting to open the gate latch from the outside. Kuroo nearly fell over as he hopped off the fence, unsure how Bokuto was even still standing. He’d definitely had way more to drink in the past few hours. Bokuto opened the latch for the gate from the inside, shrugging when Kuroo raised an eyebrow.

“Better to have it open so we can run if we have to,” He pointed out, grinning widely as he pulled off his jacket and shirt, tossing them on the ground.

“Smart man,” Kuroo grinned, tossing his jacket aside and pulling off his shirt, definitely getting an eyeful of Bokuto’s naked torso before doing so. His self control was bad enough sober; drunk, it was practically non-existent. How the hell he’d managed not to kiss and/or confess to Bokuto all night, he didn’t know.

Thankfully, the pool was not frozen over. But Kuroo still knew it wasn’t going to be warm. They both stood on the edge of the pool in their boxers, glancing between the water and each other for a moment.

“Now or never,” Bokuto grinned, before running and cannonballing into the freezing water. Kuroo yelped as he was splashed, before jumping into the pool a moment later. The water was cold, but not as cold as he’d expected. It was a nice pool, Kuroo would guess it had some sort of heating system the owners hadn’t shut off yet. The cold air bit at his skin as he resurfaced, slicking his hair back and out of his face as he watched Bokuto shaking his head around like a dog. Kuroo could hear his own teeth chattering, grinning widely as he moved his limbs in an attempt to keep himself somewhat warm. Bokuto laughed, holding onto the ladder for support as he pushed his hair out of his eyes.

If Kuroo Tetsurou ever had a weakness in his life, he was sure it consisted solely of Bokuto with his hair down.

“See! I told you it’d be fun!” Bokuto yelled, much too loud to be talking to someone a foot away from him.

“Shut the fuck up!” Kuroo whisper-yelled, laughing as he splashed water in Bokuto’s direction, “Someone’s gonna end up calling the cops on us!” Of course, famous last words.

“Don’t splash me, dickhead!” Bokuto’s voice was a little quieter, but not much. Kuroo was much more worried about the cold water hitting him like a volleyball to the face as Bokuto splashed him back. Kuroo pushed his hair back again, getting ready to retaliate as the other man attempted to flee towards the pool’s ladder, cackling like a hyena the whole way.

Then Kuroo heard the sirens.

_ So much for not getting arrested. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave comments/kudos/etc. if u'd like to!!!
> 
> *come yell at me on tumblr pls @kuidore*!!!!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Running from the cops, photo albums, and official AkaKen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just wanna let you guys know, I know theres a lot of relationship tags associated with this piece and as much as I don't really like crosstagging, I feel like I kind of need to just because theres so many mentioned relationships and shown relationships in this story (many of them I want to make side stories about later, but im gonna finish this story before I even start on any of that lmao) that I worry about people being angry if their NOTP is shown but not tagged just because the focus of the fic is on the group as a whole and not just bo and kuroo, so I understand if there's some annoyance with that and I am sorry
> 
> either way, I hope you guys like this chapter! i said this story was gonna be 10 chapters but i lied, i'm pretty sure its gonna be more so i hope yall are okay with that!

_ Shit. _

Bokuto and Kuroo were frozen in place the moment the sound of the sirens started. For a second, Kuroo hoped that it was just a coincidence and someone hadn’t actually called the cops on them for breaking into a public pool at two in the morning. His hope was short lived, the reality of the situation setting in when the lights became visible at the end of the street and the cop car started to slow down as it neared them.

“Run!” Kuroo pulled himself out of the water, Bokuto scrambling up the ladder a moment later. He attempted to ignore the needle pricks along his skin as the cold air hit him, the two of them rushing to pick up their discarded clothing. They got out of the gate just as the patrol car came to a stop on the street corner, slamming it shut behind them with the loud sound of metal hitting metal. The adrenaline coursing through his veins was just barely enough to stop Kuroo from tripping over himself and faceplanting into the concrete, the rough sidewalk digging into the bottom of his bare feet as they sprinted as fast as they could away from the pool.

It seemed they hadn’t managed to get out before the cop had seen them, and when Kuroo looked over his shoulder, he saw the patrol car turning around to follow them. The last thing he wanted was to end up in fucking custody in just his boxers. Thankfully, the streets were dark save for the light of the moon and the streetlights every ten feet, and Kuroo was pretty sure if they could find a place to hide, they’d be fine. The pool hadn’t been lit up by anything, so unless someone had given the cops an exact description, they probably wouldn’t have to worry about being arrested if they managed to get away. Their only other option was sprinting all the way back to campus, and he was pretty damn sure the cop car would catch up to them long before then.

Kuroo grabbed Bokuto’s arm in between streetlights, pulling him behind the wall of a small convenience store and into an alley as the siren got louder. Bokuto let out a noise of surprise as he was suddenly pulled to the side and pushed against the wall, both of them panting heavily as they tried to hide in the shadow of the building. The alley was only a couple feet across, barely enough to fit the both of them. The cramped space left them pressed chest to chest, Kuroo’s hand bracing himself against the wall behind Bokuto as he attempted to regain his balance and fight off the nausea that was growing in his stomach.

They locked eyes, and once the shock and anxiety had faded a little, it took all of Kuroo’s self control to stop himself from laughing. It seemed Bokuto was in the same situation, lips pursed in a failing attempt to hide a shit eating grin.

“Shut the fuck up, if you start laughing they’ll hear us,” Kuroo whispered, putting a finger to his lips. Bokuto shoved him lightly, and Kuroo put a hand over the other’s mouth to shut him up. Kuroo wasn’t sure whether they stayed there for an hour or thirty seconds, but eventually, they watched from the alley as the bright lights sped right past them, continuing down the street in pursuit of.. Well, them.

Kuroo dropped his hand from Bokuto’s mouth once he was sure the cop wasn’t going to turn around and come looking back down the street, but he made no attempt to move.

The temperature had fallen into the negatives over the course of the night, and Kuroo was pretty sure the water left on his skin was starting to freeze. They were both shivering, the water and the cool bricks sapping the last of the heat from their bodies. The smart thing to do would be to get the hell out of the alley, put their clothes back on, and get their asses back to campus before the cop decided to come back and search the area a bit more thoroughly.

Then again, not once in his life had Kuroo  _ ever _ been the type of person to do the smart thing.

Instead, he burst out laughing so hard no noise came out the second the sound of the siren had faded into the distance. Bokuto’s composure crumbled immediately after, the two of them descending into a fit of wheezes. It only took a minute before they were gasping for air, leaning against each other for support. When they’d finally composed themselves and Bokuto had lifted his head off where it had come to rest on Kuroo’s shoulder, he still couldn’t bring himself to pull away. For a moment, they stared at each other, grinning like idiots as their breathing slowly returned to normal. He could feel Bokuto’s warm breath against his face, leaving pinpricks in its wake unrelated to the cold. Kuroo’s eyes flicked to Bokuto’s lips for a moment, and he was so close to throwing caution to the wind and leaning in. Bokuto’s words broke his trance only a little.

“The coast is clear, we could probably go,” He murmured, almost too softly to hear even in the night’s silence. Kuroo nodded a bit, finally tearing his eyes away from Bokuto’s lips.

“Yeah, we could..” He nodded, chewing on the inside of his cheek, “Should. We should,” He cleared his throat, finally pulling himself away from Bokuto (as much as he was able to in the tiny alleyway) before he stepped out onto the sidewalk. He struggled to pull his clothes over his wet skin, eyes trained on the sidewalk to avoid staring at Bokuto as he dressed and making the situation any more awkward than it had been.

“We should call a cab,” Bokuto wrapped his arms around himself, apparently attempting to retain any kind of body heat he could. Kuroo nodded, pulling out his phone. It was almost painful to move his fingers, but he managed to order an uber, thankful as hell when it showed up only a couple minutes later.

They both practically collapsed in the back of the cab, relief washing over them at the reprieve from the cold. Kuroo leaned against Bokuto’s shoulder, still chilled to the bone as the car started to move. All it took was one look shared between them before they started to laugh again.

“We should definitely go to my dorm.. If we go back and Kenma and Akaashi see us, we’ll be fucking dead,” Kuroo gasped out between bouts of laughter. Bokuto could only nod in response, wiping away tears from his eyes with shaking hands.

They managed to get back to campus in one piece, the cold seeming so much worse once they were out of the heated car. Kuroo made a mental note to tip the driver well; she deserved it, having to deal with their drunken idiocy at such a late hour. They managed to stumble to Kuroo’s dorm, both more than thankful to finally be free of the cold.

“D’ya mind if I take a hot shower? I’m pretty sure my hands are starting to turn purple,” Bokuto laughed as they stepped into the dorm.  _ Mind if I join? _

Kuroo had to bite his tongue to forcibly stop himself from voicing that fucking thought.

“Nah, go for it. I’m gonna hop in after,” Kuroo grinned, “I’ll try and find some dry clothes.”

He immediately went to his bedroom to strip out of his now soaked clothing, while Bokuto stepped into the bathroom. He grabbed a towel, drying himself off before he dug through his drawers in search of the warmest clothes he could find. He also managed to find a pair of track pants and a shirt that would probably fit Bokuto, draping his wet clothes over his desk chair to throw in the dryer later before he stepped back out into the living room. The adrenaline of running from the cops and the freezing cold had sobered him up a little, but he knew he’d be heavily regretting all the shots he’d done the next morning.

Kuroo settled himself on the couch, curling up under a blanket to try and regain some kind of body heat. A moment later the door to the bathroom opened, and against his best judgement (which was not very good to begin with), Kuroo looked over his shoulder.

“Do you have some clothes I could borrow?” Bokuto laughed, nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist and his wet clothes draped over his arm. Kuroo’s mouth went dry, and before he could stop himself his eyes roamed over Bokuto’s bare torso. 

“Uh, yeah. Yeah,” Kuroo nodded, standing up as he attempted to regain his composure. He refused to let his eyes drift any lower than Bokuto’s face, “They’re on my bed, you can hang up your clothes in my room.”

“Thanks!” Bokuto grinned, seemingly oblivious to Kuroo’s blatant ogling as he turned and stepped into the bedroom. He took the chance to stare at the other’s back as he walked away, mind immediately supplying the question of how those muscles would feel under his fingers. He couldn’t even bring himself to care too much about how obvious he was being.

Kuroo stared at the closed bedroom door for a moment before literally shaking his head to try and get himself together. At least he’s managed to stop himself from doing anything more obvious than the staring. He just stepped into the bathroom, pulling off his clothes and immediately turning the water as hot as it could go.

The heat numbed his freezing body for a moment, still cold despite having curled up in his hoodie and pjs under the blanket. He only turned the heat down a little once it actually started becoming painful. Letting out a sigh, Kuroo dropped his forehead to rest against the tile wall, letting the hot water bring the feeling back to his limbs as his hair plastered itself to his face. He knew he was bound to do something stupid; he was still very drunk, and apparently the way his drunk mind decided to deal with his feelings was bombarding him with the urge to kiss Bokuto every other minute.  _ Just ignore it, like you do all the time. Don’t fuck up your friendship just ‘cause you’re drunk and an idiot. _

Kuroo pulled himself out of the shower after about ten minutes, pulling his clothes back on and half-drying his hair before he stepped out of the bathroom. For a moment, he thought Bokuto was still in his bedroom, until he caught sight of him crouched down in front of the bookshelf sitting in the corner of the living room. Kuroo raised an eyebrow, moving to sit on the floor beside him.

“What’re you looking for?” He laughed a bit, Bokuto jumping and looking almost guilty being caught snooping. Kuroo didn’t really mind, and he watched Bokuto relax when he saw the grin on his face.

“I was looking for a movie or something,” He smiled a bit, “But this is all just photo albums and shit.”

“Yeah, we keep all our movies under the TV,” Kuroo chuckled a little, looking at the photograph that had caught Bokuto’s eye, “Those are my moms.”

“I guessed,” He laughed a bit, “You somehow look exactly like both of them.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kuroo smiled, picking up the picture frame with a soft smile. It was a photo from his high school graduation, him holding his diploma over his head in a show of victory. On either side of him were his mothers, and somehow Kenma had been coerced into the picture as well. It was one of only a few that had been put in a frame instead of the photo books.

“Which one’s your biological mom?” Bokuto asked, leaning against Kuroo’s side as he studied the photo. “If you don’t mind telling me, I mean!”

Kuroo let out a soft laugh at Bokuto’s nervousness. The fact that Bokuto always had to make sure someone was comfortable answering questions was cute as shit. “Mom is,” He pointed to the woman in the picture with long black hair and soft features, who was grinning widely on her tiptoes to put her arm around her son’s shoulders, “She’s the one who owns the bakery. Got my hair colour from her, but she apparently didn’t feel like giving the ‘manageable hair’ gene,” He joked, grinning, “My Ma’s twin brother was the sperm donor, though. That’s why I look so much like her,” He pointed to the taller of the two women, standing about the same height as Kuroo with wild and curly red hair, “Everyone says I got just about everything about my face from her. My eyes are all Mom’s, though.”   
“I see it,” Bokuto smiled a bit, looking between Kuroo and the photo, “Was it weird? Having your uncle technically be your father?”

“Not really, it was pretty normal. Him and Ma are close as all hell, so he was over all the time. I never thought of him as a Dad, though, and he never tried to push to take that role in my life. He was there for me, and loved me, but he didn’t try to be my parent or anything. It worked out pretty well,” He laughed a bit, setting the photo back on the shelf. It had been a while since he’d actually looked through all the books; most of them were photos of him and Kenma, both of their parents occasionally making an appearance. His mom’s had made them all for him as a graduation present of sorts, and Kuroo would admit he’d cried a bit looking through all the photos for the first time. He’d added to them a bit through his time at university, the whole back section of most of the books dedicated entirely to stupid photos of their friend group.

“What other pictures you got?” Bokuto grinned, pulling out a photobook decked out in red and black decorations.

“I thought you wanted to watch a movie?” Kuroo joked, resting his chin on his knee as Bokuto opened up the book, “That one’s all my volleyball pictures and stuff.”

“This is a lot more fun,” Bokuto shot him a grin, looking over the first page of photos. The first couple were all of Kuroo when he’d first started playing, grinning widely with holes in his mouth where his teeth had fallen out, “I guess you always had that stupid hair.”   
“Yup,” Kuroo laughed, smiling as he looked over the photos, “I told you, it's natural. The hair does what it wants.”

A couple pages in was when photos of both him and Kenma started showing up. The two of them playing in Kuroo’s back yard, the two of them on the court at their first middle school game. There was even one of the two of them in the hospital after Kuroo had knocked out a couple teeth diving face-first into a bench.

“And that right there was the exact moment I broke my nose for the first time,” Kuroo laughed, pointing to a large photo taken of he and Kenma in his backyard, the photo capturing the moment the ball came across the net and whacked him straight in the face, “God, that was like..eight years ago. Holy shit,” He breathed out, shaking his head a little. Bokuto laughed, flipping forward a bit until he got to the photos of Kuroo in high school.

“How the hell’d you get so tall so fast?” Bokuto scoffed, looking between the side by side photos of Kuroo from his third year of middle school to his first year at Nekoma.

“You sound like my Mom,” Kuroo snickered a bit, shifting to sit cross legged as he leaned into Bokuto.  _ Just to see the pictures better, obviously _ , “I hit my growth spurt right at the end of my third year of junior high. Grew like, over seven inches in a month.”

“Shit,” Bokuto laughed a bit, flipping through photos of Kuroo’s second year, “Why’d Kenma dye his hair?”

“It was Yamamoto’s fault,” Kuroo snorted a bit, pointing him out in the photograph. He’d gone off to America for University, but as far as Kuroo knew, just about everyone from Nekoma still talked to him. The moron was way too stubborn to let distance break his friendships with his teammates, “He told Kenma that his black hair made him look like the Sadako girl from the Ring, so Kenma dyed it. He thought the black hair would make him stand out too much.”

“Does he go here? Why haven’t I met him?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow, studying the photo “He looks a lot like Tanaka, actually.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty similar. It’s almost scary,” Kuroo snickered a little, “He was one of our wing spikers, he’s a year younger than us. He got an offer to go to school in America after he graduated, so he’s abroad right now. He and Tanaka bonded over finding Karasuno’s old manager attractive.”

“Kiyoko, right? I heard Suga and Daichi mention her a couple times,” Bokuto commented, and Kuroo nodded.

“I never knew her too well, but most of the guys from Karasuno still talk to her and her girlfriend, Yachi. I’m pretty sure they’re in Europe or something, that was the last I’d heard about them,” Kuroo explained. He’d met her once or twice after high school, when she’d come by the campus to visit the old Karasuno team.

“God, if he was so much like Tanaka I can’t imagine the kinda shit he put Kenma through,” Bokuto joked, grinning.

“Oh, you have no idea. They disliked each other pretty bad for a while. Yamamoto hated that Kenma was so talented, even though he didn’t really put in effort in practices. They got in a fight one time, it was the first time I’d seen Kenma actually yell at someone,” He shook his head a bit, “But they were fine after that. Tora realized Kenma’s effort in volleyball was put in mentally instead of physically. They still talk quite a bit, he even made a whole groupchat after us third years graduated so we didn’t lose touch.”

“Damn,” Bokuto chuckled a bit, flipping forward to Kuroo’s third year.

“That’s us at nationals,” He smiled a bit, “We lost in the third round to Karasuno.”

“Really?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow, looking at the photos, “All you guys really managed to put your shit aside after high school, huh?”

“Yeah, seriously. Even Oikawa managed to do it, and Karasuno was the reason he didn’t get the chance to face off against Shiratorizawa in his third year,” Kuroo smiled, taking the photo book as he looked at the photos. The first was them right after their game against Nohebi. They were all grinning, even Kenma. The last one with Kuroo on the court was them after the match with Karasuno.

The next couple pages only featured Kuroo sporadically, the majority of them being pictures he’d taken of the Nekoma games he’d gone to in his first year of University.

“Kenma was the captain?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow, seeming a little surprised. Kuroo didn’t blame him.

“Yeah. He was hesitant at first; didn’t think he was good enough to lead the team. Little idiot managed to get them to the quarterfinals of nationals that year,” Kuroo grinned proudly, “I told him he’d be a great captain, and all the other second years wanted him as captain. Hell, even Nekomata wanted him to be captain. So he kinda didn’t have a choice.”

“Is Nekomata the old guy?” Bokuto pointed to the team photo of Nekoma in Kenma’s third year, right after they’d lost the quarterfinal game. Kuroo, and Yaku had both been dragged into the photo by their kouhai, grinning in plain clothes alongside their old teammates.   
“Yeah, he was our coach. He retired the year after Kenma graduated, I heard he moved out to Miyagi to harass his old rival or something,” He snickered a bit, “Him and young Ukai were the reason Nekoma and Karasuno became rivals again.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard the story a couple times,” Bokuto smiled, “Got the whole story about the battles at the garbage dump.”

“Nekoma won the last one in Kenma’s third year, on the National stage. That’s the only one that counts,” Kuroo joked.

“Even though you didn’t play?”

“Kenma and the rest of my kouhai played, so it’s still a win for me,” Kuroo laughed. His smile went soft as they got to the last photo; taken at Kenma’s graduation, the entire team from Kuroo’s third year had showed up to cheer their asses off when their old kouhai walked the stage. They’d even managed to get Kai to come back from abroad.

“We’re the blood in our veins. We must flow without stopping. Keep the oxygen moving, so our brain can keep working - Nekoma High School.” Bokuto read out the handwritten note under the last photo, fingers tracing the lines of red ink.

“That was the speech I gave before every game while I was captain,” Kuroo murmured, smiling a little sadly as his eyes scanned the note, “I’m pretty sure Kenma said it too, at least that’s what Tora tells me. Kenma’d never admit to it, though. He thinks it’s embarrassing.”

“Why?” Bokuto looked at him, confused.

“We always called him the Brain of Nekoma. It was supposed to encourage us to do everything we could to keep the ‘brain’ functioning properly, to keep Kenma as our control tower,” Kuroo explained, “We all knew that if Kenma went down, so did the rest of us. He thought it was stupid that we focused our playing around his analytical skills, or at least that’s what he told us all. He was flattered, though.” Kuroo chuckled a bit, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

He couldn’t help the ache in his chest as he looked at the photos. He’d quit volleyball for his own reasons, because he just didn’t have the time for it. He hadn’t even played the full season his first year. It had only been a year and a half since he’d played on a team, but Kuroo still missed being on the court. Most of all, he missed Nekoma.

“Do you miss it?” Bokuto spoke a moment later, as if reading Kuroo’s mind.

“Yeah. All the time,” He laughed a bit, “I’ll probably join a Neighbourhood association or something when I graduate. Volleyball was my life, I hated having to give it up,” Kuroo chewed on the inside of his cheek, putting the book back on the shelf, “But it was for the best. I probably would’ve broken down from the stress of everything if I’d kept playing.”

“Why don’t you rejoin now?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow, “The season hasn’t started yet, and I’m sure the coach would love to have another middle blocker.”

Kuroo hadn’t thought of that. He’d overloaded himself with classes in his first two years; that’d left him with a lot more free time in his third year, but rejoining volleyball had never even crossed his mind.

“I’m out of practice,” Kuroo chuckled a bit, “It’d take me forever to get my shit together again.”

“Like hell it would!” Bokuto shoved him lightly, “You play like you never stopped. You were kicking ass on Monday.” His tone was aggressively supportive, and Kuroo couldn’t help but listen.

“I’ll think about it.” Kuroo relented, still unsure if the coach would even accept him at all.

“You never think about your decisions. Don’t start now,” Bokuto retorted, and Kuroo broke out in a smile.

“Fine, fine!” He agreed, putting his hands up in mock surrender, “If the coach’ll let me join, I’ll join.”

“Hell yeah!” Bokuto hopped up, seemingly happy with the turnout. How the hell looking at photos had turned into Kuroo being convinced to take up volleyball again, he had absolutely no idea. He definitely wasn’t complaining, though, “We should watch a movie now or something.”

“Sure. Kenma took the switch for his and Akaashi’s date night, so we can’t watch anything out here, but I’ve got a tv in my room we can use.” Kuroo suggested, standing up and setting the photo album back on the shelf. Bokuto didn’t even verbally respond, just grabbing Kuroo’s arm and pulling him out of the living room. He laughed a bit, grabbing a bag of chips off the kitchen counter as they sped past and into his room.

They managed to squish themselves together on the dorm’s small bed, both having the foresight to lay down instead of leaning against the headboard like last time. The last thing they needed was more pain to add to their hangovers the next morning.

“Stupid movies again?” Kuroo grinned, and Bokuto nodded. Kuroo found an english movie that seemed fairly idiotic, starting it up and tossing the remote to the end of the bed. He doubted they’d even stay awake through one move, let alone multiple. As the movie started, Kuroo felt an arm settle behind his shoulders, stomach twisting into knots as he leaned into Bokuto’s side. They’d cuddled the last time they watched movies together; now wasn’t any different, it didn’t mean anything. They barely had any room on the small bed, it was normal for friends to cuddle anyways.

Apparently, Bokuto either was too drunk and tired to really focus on the movie, or he just didn’t want to focus, because he spoke again a couple minutes later.

“Y’know what I just realized?”

“What?” Kuroo murmured. The alcohol was starting to wear off, leaving exhaustion in its place, and Kuroo wasn’t sure he’d even be awake when the movie’s title sequence ended.

“We’ve known each other for a full week.” Bokuto looked over at him. Kuroo raised an eyebrow, mentally calculating. Bokuto was right; they’d only met last Friday.

“Damn.. It feels like I’ve known you a lot longer than a week,” He laughed softly, turning on his side as his eyelids grew heavier. He could feel Bokuto’s gaze on his face, but he didn’t open his eyes to check.   
“Yeah, I get what you mean..” Bokuto spoke softly. All Kuroo could do was let out a hum in response, before he was out like a light. He just barely caught Bokuto’s laughter, muttering a soft goodnight as Kuroo passed out.

~

The next morning, Kuroo woke up way earlier than normal, the sun just beginning to rise as he opened his eyes. Immediately, he attempted to fall back asleep, pressing the two pillows he’d manage to pile on top of his head while he slept down in an attempt to block out the light in the room. A wave of nausea washed over him a moment later, and he somehow managed to stumble out of bed and to the bathroom without puking all over the floor.

He clutched the seat of the toilet, bile burning his throat until he was dry-heaving. Once he was fairly certain he’d emptied the entire contents of his stomach, he stood up, having to lean against the bathroom counter to keep himself upright. Kuroo brushed his teeth quickly, desperate to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth. His head was pounding too, like someone was routinely whacking the inside of his skull with a sledgehammer.

Yeah, he definitely regretted the shots from the night before. He downed a couple painkillers after struggling with the cap of the bottle for a minute, washing his face and gulping water straight from the bathroom sink.

“How you feeling?” Kuroo looked up as the door to the bathroom opened, Bokuto shooting him a grin.

“Like death. How are you not puking your guts out right now?” He huffed out, washing his face with cold water before he dried off his hands. Bokuto had drank way more than he had, yet somehow he stood totally fine in the doorway of the bathroom.

“I never really get hangovers. Plus, I puked last night,” Bokuto grinned proudly.

“So did I!” Kuroo winced a bit, the volume of his own voice making the pain in his head even worse, “I hate you,” He grumbled, earning a laugh.

“No you don’t,” Bokuto snickered, stepping out of the bathroom. Kuroo followed after, dragging his feet like a zombie.

“I need coffee. And bacon,” Kuroo muttered under his breath, more to himself than anything. But there was no way in hell he was cooking right now, even with the cramps in his stomach yelling at him to eat something.

“Lets go to the coffee shop. Fresh air’ll help you feel better,” Bokuto chuckled. Kuroo doubted that, but he wasn’t going to argue against food.

“You’re buying,” Kuroo retorted, grabbing a jacket that would actually keep him warm. He already looked like hell, fuck the aesthetic. He was gonna look homeless, or he wasn’t going at all.

“Fine,” Bokuto grinned, elbowing Kuroo in the side. Kuroo could only glare in response, having to fight off a smile as Bokuto just laughed at him again. Damn him, who the fuck can look that good after a night of drinking their weight in liqor?

When they stepped out of the dorm, Kuroo squinted in an attempt to block out as much of the sunlight as he could. By the time they made it to the cafe, his headache had subsided a bit, the medicine working its magic, and he was capable of actually keeping his eyes fully open without much pain. The cafe was practically deserted; Kuroo hadn’t checked the time on his phone before he left, but the clock on the wall said it was a little before seven. How the hell Kuroo was functioning with a hangover and less than five hours of sleep was beyond him.

“You look like you died,” Asahi commented from behind the counter, sympathy in his voice as he looked at Kuroo.

“I did,” He retorted, rubbing his eyes as he let out a laugh.

“Everyone else isn't much better,” Asahi chuckled softly, gesturing to where Oikawa was leaning against the counter by the coffee machines. His hair was a disaster, and he didn’t even have his contacts in, sitting in a stool with his forehead pressed to the counter, “Hajime literally dragged him in here this morning.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Kuroo chuckled, watching as Suga came out of the back room. Suga looked marginally better than Oikawa, but the bags under his eyes showed he had probably gotten about as much sleep as Kuroo did.

“Don’t be mean to me, I’m suffering,” Oikawa’s muffled whining just made Kuroo and Bokuto laugh, while Suga shot Bokuto a glare.

“How the hell are you functioning?” The silver-haired barista grumbled, while Bokuto just hit his fist off his chest.

“Don’t get hangovers,” He bragged, while Suga let out a huff that sounded something like ‘lucky’.

“How’re Noya and Tanaka?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow, looking at Asahi who just sighed. As much as both of them would not admit it, they were just as bad as Oikawa when it came to holding their alcohol.

“Dead. Yuu was puking in the bathtub when I left ‘cause Ryuu took the toilet,” Asahi shook his head a bit. If Suga and Oikawa were demons, then Asahi was the fucking saint of their friend group. Kuroo couldn’t imagine putting up with the shit Asahi dealt with from his boyfriends.

“Anyone else dying as far as we know?” Kuroo chuckled a bit, leaning against the counter.

“Don’t think so.” Suga piped in, leaning on the counter, “I’m pretty sure Yaku’s about to kill that Lev kid, though. Apparently he showed up at his apartment drunk last night after the party,”

Kuroo shook his head, having to fight of a cackle. That didn’t surprise him; the past week, Yaku had somehow been roped into tutoring Lev by one of his professors. From all the complaining, it sounded like Yaku was ready to strangle the beanpole of a first year.

“Of course he did,” Bokuto snickered, shoving his hands in his pockets, “Lev’s not a good critical thinker.”

“Neither are you,” Kuroo pointed out, grinning a bit. Bokuto just shoved his shoulder.

“Before we continue the conversation, are either of you gonna actually order?” Asahi joked, raising an eyebrow. Kuroo had basically forgotten about their reason for being there, despite his growling stomach.

“Yeah. I’ll have a BLT and a large caramel latte, two extra shots of espresso,” He ordered for himself. Bokuto looked at him with a disgusted expression.

“Gross. I’ll have a hot chocolate and a plain bagel with cream cheese,” Bokuto ordered, pulling out his wallet. Kuroo just elbowed him in the side.

They stayed standing at the counter even after they’d gotten their food, mindlessly talking with the three men behind the counter about the night before. Even Oikawa managed to stand up, hangover apparently worn off enough for him to drag his stool over and join in on the conversation.

Bokuto and Kuroo only left the coffee shop once the morning rush started to file in an hour later, tossing their empty cups in the trash as they walked out. Kuroo’s hangover was nonexistent by that point, thankfully.   
“Wanna stop by my dorm? See what Akaashi and Kenma are up to?” Bokuto suggested as they walked, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket.

“You haven’t gotten tired of me yet?” Kuroo joked

“I’d never get tired of you!” Bokuto bumped their shoulders together, grinning. The sentiment made Kuroo’s chest swell a little.

“Good,” He retorted, “Sure, we can head over if you want. Kenma hasn’t texted me since last night, but they were still up when I texted him that we got back to the dorm without dying.”

With that they made their way towards Bokuto’s dorm, laughing and shoving each other off the path as they walked. Kuroo couldn’t help but focus on the sheer domestic nature of the scene, something he tried to ignore. He was starting to believe that these feelings weren’t going to be as easy to get rid of as he’d thought.

They stepped into the dorm quietly, Bokuto raising an eyebrow when he saw the living room deserted aside from the empty takeout containers sitting on the coffee table.

“Weird. Keiji’s normally up by now,” He commented, closing the door softly behind him. As if summoned by the statement, the door to Akaashi’s room opened up a moment later, revealing Akaashi in just his pajama pants. The three men stood frozen for a moment, all staring at each other like deer caught in some headlights. It wasn’t too hard to put two and two together; even if Kenma hadn’t stepped out of the room a moment later dressed in just boxers and a shirt that most definitely wasn’t his own, the dark purple marks visible over Akaashi’s neck and collarbones were more than enough of a hint. The sex hair didn’t help their case.

“Fun night?” Kuroo spoke up first, grinning a bit as he watched Kenma process the situation, his face turning a bright pink.

“Took you long enough,” Bokuto’s grin matched Kuroo’s, seemingly over his surprise enough to speak. Both of their faces got even redder, Akaashi grabbing a discarded shirt off the floor (Kuroo hadn't even noticed the clothes that littered the living room, but now that he looked, he saw Kenma's hoodie thrown over the back of the couch and a pair of pants on the floor) once his shock had worn off. He pulled it over his head in an attempt to cover himself, shooting a venomless glare at both of them.

"Both of you, shut it." Akaashi made his way into the kitchen, the blush still obvious on his face.

“Does this mean I have to give 'kaashi the boyfriend talk now?” Kuroo grinned a bit. Kenma rolled his eyes, flipping him off.

“Fuck off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so there's two ways I'm thinking of going with this story from this point, one will result in the story being probably a couple chapters longer than the other option. I guess I'm gonna figure it out as I go. Leave comments/kudos/etc. if you guys want!
> 
> *come yell at me on tumblr @kuidore!!!!!*


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking Credit, Practice, and Payback for the Pants thing motherfucker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im so sorry abt how long this took to post, its a lil shorter than the most recent chapters but I hope you guys still enjoy it <3

Kenma and Akaashi’s embarrassment subsided fairly quickly, replaced with annoyance at the fact that Bokuto and Kuroo were attempting to take full responsibility for the fact that they finally got together.

“What the hell did you two do?” Akaashi scoffed, leaning against the kitchen counter beside Kenma with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Besides harassing us constantly about it,” Kenma added in, shooting a pointed look in Kuroo’s direction. He ignored it completely.

“Uh, excuse you! I was the one who told you to go for it!” Kuroo put a hand over his chest, feigning hurt that Kenma would even think to accuse him of trying to take credit for something he didn’t do.

“I said the same thing to you, ‘Kaashi!” Bokuto pulled himself to sit up on the kitchen island beside Kuroo, pouting.

“That doesn’t count as actually doing anything,” Akaashi shook his head, a small smile pulling at his lips despite his so-called annoyance, “I’m almost 100% sure it still would’ve happened if you hadn’t given us that  _ incredible _ advice.”

“I’m still gonna take credit for it,” Kuroo crossed his arms defiantly, looking like a child determined to prove he was right. Kenma just rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his tea.

“So, what happened? Who confessed first?” Bokuto grinned a bit, earning a whack in the shoulder from Akaashi as he moved to pop two bagels into the toaster.

“The only thing you need to know is that we’re dating, that’s all the private information you’re getting,” Akaashi shook his head a little. Kenma just snorted softly, grabbing a stool to sit down on. Obviously neither of them were too eager to earn themselves the endless teasing that would inevitably come along with telling the story.

“You suck! Where’s the fun in getting your best friends together if you don’t get to vicariously live through their relationship?” Bokuto whined dramatically, leaning his weight back on his hands.

“The most concerning part of that sentence  _ wasn’t _ that you know the word ‘vicariously’, and that’s almost scarier than whatever the hell you just said,” Akaashi deadpanned, shooting an unimpressed look at the two men sitting squished on the kitchen island.

“So this leaves me as like, the only single one!” Kuroo changed the subject, sighing dramatically and shaking his head, “This is dumb.”

“Wow, it’s almost like you two should’ve focused more on your own love lives than on ours,” Akaashi stated in mock surprise, rolling his eyes at Kuroo’s offended look. Before he could respond to the unneeded sarcasm, Kenma spoke up.

“You’re not even close to the only single one, moron.” Kenma scoffed, “Yaku, Hinata, Kageyama, Lev, Terushima, and Bokuto are all single. Don’t try to make yourself feel special.”

“First off, how do you know all that, second off, rude!” He crossed his arms, shaking his head a bit, “Besides, Yaku’s got.. Whatever weird thing he’s got going on with Lev, Hinata and Kageyama are practically a couple.. That leaves me, Bo, and Teru!” The mention of Terushima had Kuroo mentally reliving the incident in the kitchen from the night before, and it was all he could do to fight off a blush. As far as he knew, Oikawa and Iwaizumi were still the only two who knew about it, and Kuroo was surprised it’d managed to stay that way. Maybe Oikawa had just been too drunk to remember it at all. Either that, or he just hadn’t found a way to bring it up that would embarrass Kuroo yet. He could only hope it was the former.

“That’s still two other people. So you’re still not the only one,” Akaashi pointed out, handing one of the bagels to Kenma. Kuroo just continued to pout dramatically.

“Yeah bro, don’t worry! We can be single together!” Bokuto bumped their shoulders together. The sentiment would be sweet, if it wasn’t for the fact that ‘being single together’ was one of the last things Kuroo wanted to be when it came to Bokuto.

“Yeah yeah, can we go back to bugging Kenma and Akaashi now?” He joked, grinning a bit when Kenma glared at him.

“Oh! Wait, I got something better!” Bokuto grinned, ignoring Kuroo’s question of what could possibly be better than bugging their respective best friends, “Kuroo’s gonna join the volleyball team!”

“Really?” Kenma raised an eyebrow, obviously surprised at Kuroo’s sudden decision, “Are you going to have enough time?” His voice didn’t betray any concern, but his eyes did. Kenma had been a firsthand witness to what Kuroo’s attempts to balance his schoolwork and volleyball had done to him in his first year; he’d been the one dealing with the middle of the night skype calls when it was all Kuroo could to not to break down over the weight of both assignments and games hanging constantly above his head. Quitting had meant he had to give up a pretty big chunk of his scholarship, which hadn’t really helped his stress levels, but Kuroo just hadn’t been able to deal with the workload. A part time job had taken up less of his time than volleyball, after all.

“I don’t have too many classes this year. Plus I’m not working anymore, so I think I should,” He smiled, touched by the concern. Kenma just hummed in response, nodding.

“That’s good, then. That means someone else can remind Bokuto every time he forgets he has practice now,” Akaashi shot a pointed look in Bokuto’s direction. He just shrugged.

“Coach is always changing the times!” He attempted to defend himself, pouting a bit as Akaashi just chuckled, pulling a stool over to sit beside Kenma.

“Careful with the PDA, people might think you’re dating,” Kuroo joked when Akaashi leaned over to press a kiss to Kenma’s cheek as if it was just instinctual, earning an eye roll as his response.

“You two were the ones so desperate to try and get us together,” He pointed out, taking a bite of his bagel with a raised eyebrow.

“Still! You don’t need to rub your cute relationship in the faces of us woefully single people,” Bokuto fake-pouted, pretending to be devastated by the reminder of his own lack of relationship. Kuroo used his hand to stifle a laugh, failing to keep up the charade.

“You two are both capable of finding yourselves a relationship. Especially if you didn’t spend so much time focusing on other people’s love lives.” Akaashi commented.

“Kuroo is not, I can say that for a fact,” Kenma chimed in. Okay, it was true, but that didn’t mean Kenma had to say it.

“Okay,  _ I _ know that but you still don’t have to expose me like that,” Kuroo whined, shaking his head in mock disappointment, “You’re no better!”

“Which one of us has a boyfriend?” Kenma raised an eyebrow, and Kuroo slouched a bit, puffing out his cheeks.

“Yeah and how long did that take?” Kuroo retorted, “You two’ve known each other since like, first year, and you’re only just getting together!” Kenma only acknowledged the statement with a glare.

“Now that I think about it, Bokuto isn’t either. So nevermind, I withdraw my earlier statement,” Akaashi grinned a little when Bokuto just let out a squawk.

“I am so!” He argued.

“Your last relationship was in high school, Koutarou,” Akaashi deadpanned, and Bokuto threw his hands in the air.

“So?” He pouted a bit. Kuroo didn’t know whether to be ecstatic or not about the fact that Bokuto seemed to be just as bad at the whole dating thing as he was.

“We can continue this whole argument later, or you can accept that you’re wrong. Either way, I have a class soon, and I need to shower and change,” Akaashi shot Kenma a smile before he stood up and made his way out of the kitchen. Bokuto scoffed, opening his mouth to continue the argument as Akaashi had suggested, before closing it quickly.

“We should go too, I have a class later and I’d like to take a damn shower. I smell like stale beer,” Kuroo chuckled a little. Kenma finished off his tea, standing from his stool.

“I wonder why,” Kenma mused, and Kuroo just flipped him off.

“Come to the gym around 5, alright? We have practice tonight, we can talk to the coach about getting you on the team!” Bokuto grinned, his pout from earlier wiped completely off his face.

“Alright. I’m gonna have to find my fuckin’ shoes and shit, I think they’re in my closet somewhere,” Kuroo snickered, walking towards the door. There was always the chance that the Coach wouldn’t even want another player, or that it was really too late for Kuroo to suddenly join a team that had already been practicing together for nearly a month, but he was ridiculously excited at the possibility that he might just get to play volleyball on a real team again. He’d resigned himself to giving up any and all hope of going pro with volleyball once he’d quit in his first year; not to say that him joining the University team immediately meant he was gonna get an offer to be on a professional level team, but it definitely gave him better chances than a neighbourhood association.

Kuroo and Kenma said their goodbyes, and they left for their own dorm. Before Kuroo could even open his mouth, he was cut off.

“Shut the hell up if your next words are anything about what you walked in on,” Kenma glared at him out of the corner of his eye. Kuroo just huffed, shaking his head.

“I’m offended, Ken! I was just going to say I’m happy for you!” He put a hand over his heart dramatically.

“Fine..” He seemed to think for a moment, before speaking again, “Thank you. For telling me to go for it.” Kenma sighed, acting as if it physically pained him to say the words, “It really did help.”   
Kuroo wiped under his eyes, fake sniffling, “I’m so proud,” His dramatic joy was replaced by a shit eating grin a moment later, “But jesus christ, did you stick a  _ vaccum _ on his neck? I’m pretty sure people are gonna think he’s an alien with how purple-” Kuroo jumped back to dodge Kenma’s hand as it came by to whack him, “-his skin is  _ okay I’m sorry don’t hurt me! _ ” Kuroo cackled, cowering as Kenma repeatedly whacked him in the shoulder. Even with his fake anger, Kuroo watched as the smaller man struggled - and ultimately failed - to keep the grin off his face.

“Shut  _ up! _ ”

~  
  


Kuroo’s nerves were through the roof when he met Bokuto outside the gym half an hour before the team’s practice was to start. Thinking about doing something on a whim and actually doing it were two  _ vastly  _ different situations.

“You look like you’re ready to have a heart attack or something,” Bokuto joked, slapping him on the back, “If ever your whole fake confidence thing was needed, its now. He won’t take you seriously if you faint in the middle of the gym,” Kuroo shot a glare in Bokuto’s direction, refusing to admit the whole tough love thing was actually helping him.

“Shut up, I’m fine,” He straightened up a bit, shoving Bokuto with a grin, “Lets just go talk to him. I’d rather not leave in shame in front of the rest of the damn team, I’d never hear the end of it,” He half-joked, shoving his hands in the pockets of his track pants as he followed Bokuto into the gym.

“Hey, Coach!” Bokuto called to the tall man standing on the other side of the gym, raising a hand in greeting. Kuroo didn’t recognize him; he figured someone new must’ve taken over coaching sometime between his first year and now.

“Koutarou! You’re early, what’s wrong?” He joked, raising a hand in a wave. Kuroo snorted a bit, and Bokuto shot him a glare.

“You were talking about looking for more players, right?”

“I mentioned it, yes. Why?” The man seemed to be just humouring Bokuto, his eyes flicking to Kuroo as if he already knew why some random guy was suddenly in the gym. Granted, he probably did.

“This is Kuroo, he wants to play,” Bokuto grinned, basically shoving Kuroo forward. He resisted the urge to punch the owl-haired idiot in the gut, more focused on not tripping over his own feet and face-planting on the gym floor.

“Kuroo Tetsurou. I’m a middle blocker,” He introduced himself, a slight grin pulling at his lips.

“Eichii Sato. Why didn’t you try out earlier?” The blond man raised an eyebrow, and Kuroo shrugged a bit, trying to remain nonchalant.

“I quit volleyball in my first year of University. I didn’t have the time,” He answered, resisting the urge to chew on the inside of his cheek. He felt like the coach was seizing him up, looking for any sign of him being anything but 100% serious about joining, “But I decided I still wanted to play.”

“Hm.” Sato crossed his arms, “Have you been practicing since then?”

“Of course I have,” Kuroo resisted the urge to scoff. As if he’d be stupid enough to try to get on the team at all if he hadn’t practiced for a year and a half. The Coach seemed to mull over the information for a moment.

“Our first practice match is in a week, against Hitotsubashi. You can attend practices until then, and you’ll be put on as a starter. After that, I’ll decide if you can play.” Sato finally spoke, uncrossing his arms. Kuroo’s face just broke out into a grin. Damn, that was a lot easier than he’d thought. Either they really needed players, or the coach was just super fuckin’ chill. Maybe a bit of both.

“Sounds good to me. I’ll go get changed.” He held up his gym bag, smirking a little.

“So you expected to be able to participate in today’s practice?” Sato arched an eyebrow, amused.

“Never hurts to be confident,” Kuroo shrugged, turning around and following Bokuto towards the changerooms. 

The second the door closed behind them, he let out a loud victory whoop, “Fuck yeah!” He punched the air, pulling Bokuto into a hug. He was surprised he’d managed to hold off his outburst until he’d gotten out of the gym. Bokuto seemed surprised, but burst out laughing as he whacked Kuroo on the back.

“See, I told you! You’ve basically got a spot on the team. Once he sees you practice, there’s no way Coach’ll reject you,” Bokuto pulled away, still grinning. Kuroo just laughed, stepping back from the hug before his happiness made him do something stupid.   
“Thank you. Seriously,” Kuroo’s entire body had been tense throughout the conversation, and it relaxed immensely once he realized he had a damn good chance of getting to play again, “I owe you big time, Koutarou.”

Bokuto seemed momentarily stunned into silence at the use of his first name, and it took Kuroo a moment to realize that he’d even said it. It felt weirdly intimate. Before he could start rambling and make anything worse, Bokuto just grinned.

“Buy me barbecue one day, then we’ll be even.”

~

“How the hell could you not tell me you were joining again? Betrayal, absolute and total  _ betrayal! _ ” Oikawa basically screeched, whacking the back of Kuroo’s head as the team walked into the changing rooms. Even the players Kuroo didn’t know didn’t bat an eye at Oikawa’s outburst.

“It was a last minute decision, dickhead! Oi, quit hitting me! You’re spending too much time around your boyfriend,” Kuroo laughed, slapping away Oikawa’s hands as he walked towards the lockers.

He felt like he was on cloud nine; the practice had been a lot harder than anything he’d done in the past couple years, and adrenaline was coursing through his veins like it belonged there. His entire body already ached, his legs screaming from the exertion he hadn’t felt in years. He’d missed the feeling.

“He made the decision last night, quit beating him up about it,” Bokuto laughed, slapping Kuroo on the back.

“Exactly! Quit beating me up about it,” Kuroo repeated, sticking his tongue out at Oikawa as he pulled his shirt over his head, “I’m not even technically on the team yet. The coach said he’d make the decision after the practice match next week.”

“Oh come on, you’re basically on the team,” Oikawa rolled his eyes, “There’s no way Coach’ll be stupid enough to reject you after seeing you practice.” Bokuto grinned from beside him, gesturing wildly to Oikawa as if to show Kuroo that he wasn’t the only one who had faith in him. All he got was a middle finger in return.

“For once, Oikawa’s right,” Kageyama spoke up, ignoring Oikawa’s annoyed cry of ‘Tobio-chan!’.

“Yeah! He’s just making you go through practices for show, you’re definitely gonna be on the team!” Hinata piped up, jumping up and down in an apparent attempt to get rid of his remaining energy. The kid was a fucking monster, Kuroo was sure of it.

“As much as I love being showered in all the much-deserved praise-” Kuroo put a hand over his heart dramatically, completely ignoring both Bokuto and Oikawa yelling various versions of ‘fuck off’ and ‘watch the ego’, “I’m still not gonna act as if I’ve got a guarenteed spot. Gotta put in the work if I really wanna play again.”

“Wow, that’s the least cocky thing I’ve ever heard you say. Are you sure you’re actually Kuroo?” Nishinoya raised an eyebrow as he stepped into the locker room, a wide grin on his face.   
“I’m very sure, Shorty. Watch it,” Kuroo grinned, ignoring the libero’s squawk of indignation as he grabbed a towel and walked towards the showers. He made it about three steps before a weight suddenly clung to his back, nearly knocking him face-first into the wall as Nishinoya rubbed his knuckles against his skull.

“ _ Take it back _ , Rooster-head!”

After about five minutes of attempting to peel Nishinoya off his back with Bokuto’s help (all while his teammates either laughed, packed up their things, or video taped the ordeal), Kuroo finally made it into the showers. Bokuto followed after him, and by the time they came out, the rest of the team had made their way out, obviously opting to shower at their own dorms and get the hell home. They both changed quickly, saying a quick goodbye to the coach as they left.

“Damn, how the fuck is it this dark already?” Kuroo grumbled, running a hand through his damp hair as he and Bokuto stepped out of the gym.

“Winter’s coming, that’s how time works,” Bokuto snickered, earning an elbow to the side as they began to walk.

“Wow, thanks. That was definitely  _ not _ a rhetorical question,” Kuroo shook his head, snickering to himself as he repositioned his bag on his shoulder. They walked in silence for a moment, but for once, it was Kuroo to break it instead of Bokuto, “I didn’t really say thanks. Y’know, for convincing me to join again. So, thank you.”

Bokuto was taken aback, looking at Kuroo in surprise for a moment before he grinned, “I thought you ‘didn’t technically have a spot on the team yet’?” He teased. Kuroo reached an arm out to shove him, but Bokuto dodged it just in time, “You don’t have to thank me. You deserve to be on the team, but apparently were too stupid to realize you could just join.”

Kuroo shook his head a bit, laughing under his breath, “Yeah, I was pretty stupid. Either way, I do have to thank you. I wouldn’t’ve even thought of it, if you hadn’t suggested it.”

“You’re welcome,” Koutarou smiled, slapping Kuroo on the back, “This doesn’t mean I’m gonna go easy on you in practice, though!”

Kuroo ducked his head, failing to fight back another laugh, “I’d still kick your ass, whether you went easy or not.”

“Keep thinking that, dipshit,” Bokuto elbowed him, and they both descended into another fit of laughter as they neared Kuroo’s dorm.

“You down to get lunch tomorrow?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow as they stopped in front of his dorm, “I’m pretty sure I owe you some barbecue.”

Bokuto’s face broke out into a grin, “Hell ye-” In the middle of his words, Bokuto’s eyebrows suddenly pinched together, as if he’d just remembered something, “Shit, I’m actually busy for lunch tomorrow, I have a-” He paused, “A thing. What about dinner?”

Kuroo raised an eyebrow at the hesitation, but brushed it off. Bokuto was probably doing lunch with a friend or something, “Alright, dinner then.” He grinned, putting two fingers to his forehead in some sort of goodbye salute, “Don’t forget about practice tomorrow morning!” He called, stepping into his dorm building a lot more content than he’d been in a while.

Kuroo raised an eyebrow when he stepped into his dorm to see Akaashi and Kenma sitting on the couch, intently focused on playing what sounded like Smash Bros and surrounded by empty takeout containers.

“Nice to know I was included in the game night,” He joked, dropping his gym bag by the door and pulling off his shoes. Kenma didn’t even glance in his direction.

“You were at practice. There’s gyro for you in the fridge if you’re hungry,” He retorted, grinning as the game ended and Akaashi seemingly had to resist throwing the controller at the television.

“You’re forgiven,” He grinned, immediately running to the fridge to pull out the untouched takeout container. He really hadn’t been in the mood to cook. He tossed the food onto a plate and warmed it up, collapsing on the empty seat and putting his feet on the coffee table as he watched the couple start another game, “How many times have you lost so far?” He spoke around a mouthful of rice, raising an eyebrow at Akaashi.

“Only a couple,” He grumbled, eyebrows pinched in concentration as he stared at the tv screen.

“Sixteen times in a row,” Kenma supplied, ignoring Akaashi’s groan of protest.

“It’s fine, I lose to him all the time too,” Kuroo shrugged, pulling out his phone, “Doesn’t matter what you play him in, Kenma’s gonna win somehow.”

“I told him that, and this was the result,” The pudding-haired man shrugged a bit, leaning against the arm of the couch. Akaashi just grumbled incoherently under his breath, puffing out his cheeks, “How was practice?”

“Fucking awesome,” Kuroo grinned, sending Bokuto a picture of his takeout container solely to brag, “I forgot what it was like to actually practice, instead of just serving and playing practice games.”

“That's great,” Kenma shot him a slight smile, momentarily looking away from the television, “Are you officially on the team now?”

“Not yet. Coach said I could practice with them until the practice match next week. Then he’s gonna let me know if I’m on it or not.”

“You’re gonna get on it,” Kenma assured, and Akaashi nodded in agreement.

“You’re good, especially for someone who hasn’t really played in over a year.” Akaashi commented, cursing as Kenma beat the shit out of his character.

“Stop, you guys are gonna make me blush!”

~

“How’s Lev?” Were the first words out of Kuroo’s mouth as he sat down beside Yaku in the lecture hall the next morning, grin spreading from ear to ear as the shorter man just dropped his head onto the desk with a groan. He’d managed to pull all the details out of Suga, Asahi, and Oikawa, and he’d been  _ dying _ to use them in person. Teasing was a lot more fun when Yaku couldn’t just ignore his texts.

“Shut. The fuck. Up.” Yaku groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sat up straight again, “Who told you?”   
“Who do you think? The Coffee Shop idiots,” Kuroo snickered, taking way too much enjoyment in his friend’s pain.  _ Payback for the pants thing, motherfucker. _

“I’m gonna kill them all,” He huffed out, crossing his arms, “Lev too, while I’m at it.”   
“Oh c’mon, it’s romantic!” Kuroo teased, fighting off his laughter, “Drunken moron shows up at your door in the middle of the night, confesses, and then throws up on you. Classic love story!”

“Shut up!” Yaku punched him in the shoulder, face turning bright pink, “He doesn’t even remember the whole… confession, thing. I don’t even know if that’s what he said, most of it was gibberish.” He was rambling at that point, words spilling out of his mouth at an almost alarming rate.

“Oh c’mon, you gotta admit, you like him,” Kuroo snickered, “If you didn’t, you would’ve stopped tutoring him the second he asked you if serotonin was a body part.”

“Dear god, don’t remind me,” Yaku groaned, “I don’t know how I fucking feel about him, alright? He’s annoying, has no filter, is as dumb as a rock sometimes, constantly makes fun of m height..” He listed off, sighing.

“You could do a whole lot worse,” Kuroo pointed out, “Besides, you said he doesn’t remember telling you he likes you, right? That gives you some time to think about your feelings.”

“How the hell am I supposed to tutor him knowing that he apparently has a crush on me?” Yaku whisper-yelled, tipping his head back with a sigh.

“You ignore it and pretend nothing is going on.” Kuroo supplied, pulling out his notebook as the Professor walked into the lecture hall.

“Oh really? And how’s that strategy going with Bokuto?” Yaku arched an eyebrow. Of course Yaku knew about that, why wouldn’t he? Hell, he was probably in that stupid fucking groupchat Kenma had mentioned.

“Perfect, thank you very much,” He stuck his tongue out at the shorter man, shutting up as soon as the professor started talking. They were going over the material for their next test, and Kuroo really couldn’t afford to get kicked out of this lecture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanna take a sec to thank literally anyone whos recommended this fic to other ppl, everyone who's commenting and leaving kudos or sending me asks/msgs on tumblr, i literally never thought id have a bunch of people following this fic and genuinely liking it. all the support means more to me than u guys realize, so thank you so so much <3 ily all
> 
> also, in regards to the last chapter, i've officially decided on the path imma go for this fic (which is why this chapter took so long to post, sorry for that;;). So its gonna be probably at least 15 chapters, dont quote me on that asdhfj
> 
> anyways, thank you all again <3
> 
> *come yell at me on tumblr @kuidore!!!!!*
> 
> **also if you ever make literally anything that has to do with this story, whether it be fanart or even a shitpost abt it or smth pls tag me in it or send it to me on tumblr i literally always want to see those things <3<3


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Worry, Decisions, and Bombshells

Something was going on with Bokuto.

Kuroo didn’t know what it was, and there was a part of him that was trying to brush off the radio silence he’d been dealing with all day. But the sinking feeling in his stomach when he pulled out his phone to see absolutely  _ nothing _ in his snapchat, texts, or even the groupchat from Bokuto was hard to ignore. It was rare for him to go more than half an hour in a day without  _ anything _ , and yet Bokuto hadn’t texted him once since this morning, when Kuroo had reminded him they had practice.

He’d noticed something was off yesterday; the hesitation when Bokuto told him he couldn’t do lunch. Kuroo’d brushed it off at the time, assuming he just had to study, or had plans with Akaashi. Then practice had come, and Kuroo had watched Bokuto sit alone every time they stopped for break, grinning with his eyes glued to his phone.

_ He has other friends, you moron. _ He thought to himself, huffing a bit as he stared at his phone as if trying to materialize those three little dots that would tell him that Bokuto had something to say.

He didn’t know what it was, causing the sinking feeling in his stomach each time he checked his phone and found no notifications from Koutarou. There was no  _ reason _ for him to be feeling like that; they didn’t have to talk constantly, there were plenty of days Kuroo went without talking to some of his friends. The radio silence meant nothing, at least that’s what Kuroo tried to convince himself.

But still, the sinking feeling wouldn’t go away, even after he’d come up with a hundred rational scenarios as to why Bokuto hadn’t spoken to him all day. He could be studying, could have class, he might be at the library or out for lunch. All those rational explanations, and yet Kuroo’s thoughts always landed in one spot.

_ He knows. _

Anxiety was spiking in his chest as he walked through the crowd of students back to his dorm. As illogical as it sounded, Kuroo couldn’t put the idea out of his head. What if Bokuto knew? Hell, all his other friends had figured it out, and if they had, who was to say Bokuto hadn’t come to the same conclusion? Or maybe someone else had told him; Kuroo knew none of his friends would be so vindictive, but hell, by this point Bokuto’s friends had probably figured it out. Maybe one of them had told him, thinking they were doing Kuroo a favour. He didn’t think anyone would try to tell him out of malice, but then again, Bokuto probably had plenty of friends Kuroo didn’t know.

Maybe one of them had seen them together. Noticed Kuroo’s blatant crush, and felt it was their duty to tell their probably-straight friend that the bi guy he’d become friends with had a thing for him.

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:45pm_ **

_ We still on for dinner tn?  
  
_

Kuroo sent the text without giving himself a minute to think about it, chewing on the inside of his cheek hard enough that he began to taste metal as he stepped into his dorm. Kenma told him he was with Akaashi; thankfully, it left the dorm judgement-free for the time being, leaving him to internally panic about Bokuto’s sudden change. 

He felt a spike of irrational relief when his phone buzzed, tension in his shoulders dissipating slightly when he saw it was Bokuto.

**Brokuto ⊚▿⊚** **_3:47pm_ **

_ hell yea!!! U think imma pass up barbecue?????? _

Kuroo chuckled under his breath, relaxing way more than he’d like to admit as he read the response. It was the same as usual; no awkwardness, Bokuto wasn’t trying to cancel on him, he didn’t seem weirded out as if he’d just learned one of his best friends had feelings for him.

_ He was just busy, moron. You have nothing to worry about. _

With that out of the way, the majority of Kuroo’s anxiety was gone. There was still a twisting feeling in his gut, as if warning him that his relief wasn’t going to be long-lived, but he ignored it. It was just an after-effect of his stupid, illogical panic.

**Ku-bro (Φ ω Φ)** **_3:48pm_ **

_ Good. 5pm, meet in the student parking lot? i can drive this time _

He set his phone aside when the confirmation from Bokuto came through, tipping his head back against the couch with a sigh. He needed to quit stressing over his feelings.

_ If you told him, you wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. _

The thought materialized before Kuroo could stop it. For a moment he immediately pushed it away; it was stupid. He couldn’t confess to Bokuto, it would ruin things!

Then he stopped, staring up at that damn popcorn ceiling as his thoughts ran freely through his mind. His eyes slipped shut, another exasperated sigh leaving his body.

_ Seriously, though. Don’t be a pussy... at least you know you guys can stay close even if a relationship isn’t the right choice. _

His words to Kenma from over a week ago came back into his mind, flashing behind his eyelids like neon signs. He was a hypocrite. He’d sat, telling Kenma to not be a coward and go after what he wanted. Meanwhile, he was sitting in his fucking dorm room letting fear stop himself from even confessing, let alone pursuing anything. Bokuto wasn’t the type of person who would cut him off, or be disgusted by Kuroo’s feelings. Even if he got rejected, that didn’t have to mean ruining things.

They’d have to deal with the awkwardness for a while, sure. But hell, they’d managed to work through the awkwardness of their horrible first meeting pretty damn well. Confessing would give him closure, at the very least. At the most..

Kuroo didn’t want to get his hopes up, but for the first time since Oikawa had ruthlessly shoved him into the abyss of his mind that consisted of his feelings towards Bokuto, he seriously pondered confessing. He’d have to take some time to think about it… this wasn’t the kind of decision he wanted to make on a whim. He’d already committed himself to the whole ‘ignore your feelings’ plan, he didn’t even know  _ how _ he would go about confessing.

_ You never think about your decisions. Don’t start now. _

It was Bokuto’s advice this time, not his own. He’d lived his life on spite and whims, and it had gotten him pretty fucking far. He’d gotten into volleyball because he’d seen one game on television, and decided he loved the sport. He’d met every one of his friends because he was too stubborn to let shit like petty rivalries stop him from bonding with people. He never stopped to think about his decisions, and yeah, it’d gotten him in some pretty shitty situations sometimes. But it was that kind of thinking that had brought him and Bokuto together in the first place.

Pretty damn poetic, if Kuroo could say so himself.

“Fuck it,” He spoke aloud to himself, a slight grin pulling at his lips.

“Fuck what?”

Kuroo jumped a bit as he heard the door to their dorm room shut, head whipping around to look at Kenma dropping his bag by the door with a raised eyebrow. He’d been too engrossed in his thoughts to even hear him come in.

“I think I’m gonna tell Bo how I feel,” He said, before he could stop and hesitate. He’d officially told Kenma; he couldn’t back out now, and he didn’t think he wanted to. Kenma raised both his eyebrows, obviously shocked by Kuroo’s sudden 180 about how he was dealing with his feelings.

“Really?” He moved to the kitchen, grabbing a can of iced tea, “I think it’s a good idea.”

“Seriously?” Kuroo grinned a bit, standing up, “Thank god.”

“He seems to like you just as much as you like him. I wasn’t gonna push you to do it, but if you’ve decided it on your own.. Do it.” Kenma smiled a bit, apparently relieved that Kuroo was making a somewhat-smart decision about feelings for the first time in his life.

“We’re going for dinner tonight, I owe him barbecue for the whole volleyball thing. I’ll tell him then,” Kuroo ran a hand through his hair, genuinely struggling to keep his grin off his face. It was freeing, making a decision about this whole shitshow that wasn’t ‘ignore the emotions until they disappear’.

“This doesn’t mean we’re gonna be forced into double dates though, right?” Kenma joked, leaning against the kitchen counter. Kuroo’s chest swelled a bit; Kenma was treating it as though Bokuto had already accepted his feelings. As if them getting together wasn’t even a question.

“Of course it does!” He put a hand over his heart, “C’mon, you and Akaashi don’t want to come along and break into public pools with us?” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, too caught up in his excitement to remember that  _ that _ was still a secret. Kenma’s face immediately morphed from an encouraging smile to an unimpressed glare.

“You two broke into a public pool?” Kenma arched an eyebrow, setting down his iced tea.

“What?” Kuroo immediately attempted to play stupid, “No! Of course we didn’t! It was just a suggestion,” He smiled nervously, Kenma’s deadpan expression enough to tell him that his lie was not convincing in the slightest.

“It was the night of the frat party, wasn’t it?” He sighed, shaking his head. Kuroo huffed a bit.

“Okay, yes. But we didn’t get arrested!” He assured, as if that made it better. They had been chased by the cops, but that part of the story was definitely not something Kenma had to hear. He didn’t want to get beat up with another couch cushion.

“You’re both idiots. You’re perfect for each other,” Kenma took another sip of his iced tea with a huff. Kuroo just grinned, ruffling Kenma’s hair as he walked towards his bedroom.

“Love you too!” He snickered, closing his bedroom door behind him before Kenma could decide whether or not he wanted to hit Kuroo for doing stupid shit when he was drunk. The second the door was closed behind him, he punched the air, resisting the urge to jump up and down in an attempt to get rid of the excitement suddenly coursing through his body. For once, he understood how the hell Hinata was always moving. It felt like there was pure fucking redbull running through his damn veins or something.

He could only hope the excitement would stay put for the next hour. He refused to go back on his decision, whether doubt attempted to reroot itself in his mind or not.

For the second time that week, Kuroo might’ve went a little overboard on the effort he put into his look. He’d showered for the second time that day, solely because he wanted to use some fancy hair treatment Kenma had ordered online, and spent about twenty minutes using every skin care product he could find in their bathroom.

He spent another five minutes debating whether plucking his eyebrows would be going a little  _ too _ overboard. 

He decided against it, slathering his face in moisturizer and stepping out of the bathroom before he got the urge to pull out the red eyeshadow he’d bought for halloween and hadn’t used since then. Kuroo was pretty sure he’d never live it down if he tried to drag Kenma in to do his eyeshadow, and no way in hell was he trying to do it himself. Last time he’d done that, it looked like someone’d punched him in the face. Eyeliner, he could manage; eyeshadow was a little too advanced for him at this point.

He blow dried his hair, pretty damn impressed with the results of the hair treatment. It didn’t help the rooster look, but his hair was definitely a lot more manageable than normal. Not to mention how good it smelled, and how soft his fuckin’ hair felt. Maybe he’d have to dish out some of his savings to buy some for himself.

“How do I look?” He raised an eyebrow at Kenma, stepping out of his room about ten minutes before 5. He’d attempted to keep his clothes somewhat casual, just black jeans and a flannel over a white long sleeve. 

“The same as normal,” Kenma looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow, “What the hell’s with the glasses? I thought you lost ‘em.”

“I found ‘em in my nightstand when I was looking for my black septum ring,” Kuroo shrugged. Technically, his eyesight was bad enough that he was supposed to wear glasses all the time, but he barely ever bothered with them unless he was reading, or at home. Usually he didn’t even bother with contacts; his eyesight problems were mostly with distance reading, and the squinting added to his cool guy persona. At least, that was the excuse he had given before people had stopped bitching at him to wear the damn glasses. Plus, he’d thought he’d lost the glasses about a year ago, and hadn’t had the money to dump on a new pair.

“And you decided to wear them to your date?” Kenma snorted a bit, shaking his head.

“Hey! They look good,” Kuroo puffed out his cheeks, pulling on his boots and a jacket, “You think Bokuto would be impressed if I took my bike?” He raised an eyebrow, dangling the keys to his motorcycle between his fingers with a grin.

“Dear god, you’re insufferable,” Kenma muttered, shaking his head, “If it’s that, or your shitty car, then he’d definitely be more impressed with the bike.”

“My car is not shitty!” He argued, huffing as he slipped his wallet and the keys to his bike in his pocket. Kenma just snorted, “Okay, fine, it’s shitty. But I like it.”

“Whatever, go on your fucking date moron. You’re gonna keep him waiting,” Kenma waved him off, fighting off a slight smile, “Good luck.”

“Thanks!” Kuroo grinned, rushing out the door. He slowed his pace significantly when he neared the parking lot. Thankfully, he’d managed to completely brush off any doubt that might’ve crept into his mind since he’d made his decision. On the other hand, his body still felt weirdly tingly, and he was struggling to fight off the urge to fidget to relieve his restlessness. He caught sight of Bokuto at the entrance to the parking lot, grinning down at his phone.

“Oi!” Kuroo raised a hand in a wave, smiling widely when Bokuto looked up, slipping his phone in his pocket and returning the wave.

“Hey,” Bokuto grinned as Kuroo walked up, pulling him into a tight hug without warning. Kuroo seemed to short circuit for a moment, laughing a little as he returned the hug and ignored his heartbeat echoing in his ears, “Since when do you wear glasses?”

“I’ve had ‘em for a while. Lost them last year, found them today in my nightstand.” He snickered a bit.

“They suit you. They make you look like the nerd you are,” Bokuto teased, and Kuroo just punched him in the shoulder as he fought off a laugh.

“Shut it, asshole!”

Bokuto just laughed at him, “Where’s your car?”

“I figure we could take my bike, if that’s good?” Kuroo pulled out his keys, dangling them on one finger. He had to keep away a laugh when Bokuto broke out in a shit-eating grin, eyes wide in excitement.

“Of course its fucking good!” Bokuto punched the air. Kuroo had shown him a couple pictures of his motorcycle off his instagram a couple days ago, and had been basically forced into promising the other a ride some time. Now or never, he figured.

Kuroo snickered, leading Bokuto to the back corner of the lot where he parked his bike. He stifled a laugh with his hand as Bokuto immediately ran up to it, eyes wide as he looked over it.

“Holy fucking shit, this is awesome,” He breathed out, running his fingers over the dark red paint.

“I know, right?” Kuroo laughed, tossing his spare helmet in Bokuto’s direction, “Kenma was the last one to use that, so you might have to adjust the strap.” Kuroo pulled his own helmet over his hair, clipping the strap beneath his chin.

“You managed to get Kenma on this fuckin’ thing?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow, struggling to adjust the strap. Kuroo stepped forward, shaking his head a little as his fingers reached beneath Bokuto’s chin, brushing the skin of his neck as he fixed and clipped the strap.

“Yeah. He got a little tipsy when we dragged him out for his birthday last month, begged me to take him for a ride,” He snickered, “I was sober, and he’s apparently a bit of an adrenaline junkie when he drinks enough.”

“How often do people beg you for rides?” Bokuto laughed, adjusting the helmet on his head.

“All the time. Nishinoya and Tanaka fucking love it, I think I gave Asahi a heart attack last time I took ‘em out on it.” He grinned, sitting down and sliding forward on the seat so Bokuto had enough room to sit down.  
  
“Dear god, should I be scared?” Bokuto joked, climbing onto the bike and wrapping his arms tightly around Kuroo’s waist as the bike’s engine rumbled to life. Kuroo barked out a laugh, looking over his shoulder.

“Definitely,” He smirked a bit, “But don’t worry, it’ll be fun. I won’t pop any wheelies this time,”

Before Bokuto could respond, Kuroo peeled out of the parking lot, laughing when Bokuto let out a surprised yell at the speed. He grinned when he felt Bokuto’s arms tighten around his waist, his yelling soon replaced by laughter as he turned sharply down one of the side streets to avoid the traffic.

He weaved between parked cars, glancing in the mirrors every so often to see Koutarou grinning like a kid in a candy store. By the time they slowed to a stop in front of the barbecue place, Kuroo’s restlessness had dissipated, replaced by adrenaline and the feeling of the wind whipping his clothes around.

“Holy shit!” Bokuto climbed off the bike still laughing, undoing his helmet and setting it in the back compartment, “That was the best fucking thing I’ve ever done!” Kuroo leaned against the handlebars, cackling as he pulled off his own helmet.

“See? Told you it’d be fun,” He shut off the bike, climbing off and slipping the keys into his jacket pocket as they walked into the restaurant. They were both still grinning like idiots as the hostess seated them, looking over the menus after they’d ordered their drinks.

“I’ve never been here before,” Bokuto commented, looking over the menu with wide eyes.

“Kenma and I order takeout from here a lot. It’s really good, I’ve never sat down to eat here though,” Kuroo leaned back in his seat. His nerves were starting to return again, his leg bouncing unconsciously as he attempted to ignore the quick beating of his heart. He’d already decided he was gonna wait until after they were finished eating to tell Bokuto about his feelings. He just had to make it through, at most, an hour. Whether it ended well or not was still to be decided, but at the very least, he’d know where they stood. The waitress came by about ten minutes later with their drinks, and Kuroo shot her a smile as he handed back their menus. Bokuto glanced at his phone once she was done taking their order, a grin pulling at his lips as his fingers tapped at the screen. Kuroo couldn’t help but glance at the phone for a moment, before looking back to Bokuto’s face.

“What is it?” Bokuto cocked his head to the side, pulling Kuroo out of his thoughts when he spoke.

“Huh?” He hadn’t even known he had zoned out, too focused on the way Bokuto’s teeth caught on his bottom lip as his eyes roamed the screen of his phone, “Sorry, zoned out for a sec,” Kuroo chuckled a little, taking a sip of his drink. Bokuto shot him a funny look, but accepted the answer anyway.

“I can’t believe it’s already fuckin’ November,” Bokuto sighed, shaking his head a bit as he took a sip of his sake.

“Yeah, me neither..” Kuroo shook his head a bit, teeth crunching down on a piece of ice. Exams would be coming up soon, and next semester for him would be a hell of a lot more labs and a lot more work.

“Your birthday’s coming up, right?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow. Kuroo looked at him in surprise; he didn’t remember telling him when his birthday was.

“How’d you know that?”

“I have my ways,” Bokuto grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. Kuroo kicked him lightly under the table, fighting off a grin, “Kenma mentioned it the other day.”

“Yeah, I’m 21 on the 17th,” He smiled a bit, absentmindedly stirring his drink with his straw, “Eight more days, then I’ll be able to legally drink in the U.S,”

“You planning on going to the U.S any time soon?” Bokuto snickered, raising an eyebrow.

“No, but it’s nice to know it’ll be an option,” He laughed, downing another mouthful of pop, “Tsukki’s boyfriend’s birthday is on the 11th, right?”

“Oikawa told you, didn’t he?” Bokuto snorted a bit.

“Yup. Gave me the whole ‘surprise party’ rundown. Don’t know him that well, but he’s close with all the Karasuno guys, so obviously he’s gonna go all out.”

“And what does ‘all out’ with Oikawa mean?” He raised an eyebrow, pouring himself another glass of sake.

“The usual birthday party thing. Huge cake, shitty dollar store decorations, and a bunch of booze,” Kuroo grinned, “We do the same thing for everyone’s birthday. Drag ourselves to Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s apartment so no one calls the campus police on us, get blackout drunk and then go get breakfast looking like a horde of zombies.”   
“Sounds like a fun party,” Bokuto grinned widely, glancing up as the waitress set down the plates of raw meat and vegetables, lighting the coals under the grill in the middle of their table. Kuroo thanked her, before grabbing the tongs and putting the meat on the grill.

They ate in mostly silence, Bokuro too busy shoving whole slices of meat in his mouth to talk. On more than one occasion, Kuroo had to threaten to stab him with his chopsticks to get the idiot away from his food.

“You ordered like, twice as much as I did!” He laughed, kicking him under the table as Bokuto shoved a piece of Kuroo’s pork in his mouth, “Eat your own damn food!”

“Yours is cooked better,” Bokuto grinned around a mouthful of meat. Kuroo fake gagged, shaking his head.

“It's all cooked the same, I cooked all the meat you pig!” He laughed, grin too wide for his false anger to be even a little convincing. They finished their food a little while later (Kuroo had eventually broken down, tossing some of his meat on Bokuto’s plate with a huff), leaning back in their chairs more than satisfied with the meal. They were silent for a moment, both of them finishing off their drinks. Bokuto pulled out his phone as he downed the last of his sake, grinning widely as he looked at the screen.

_ Now or never. _

Kuroo let out an inaudible sigh, opening his mouth to speak.

“Bro, I have something to tell you,” Bokuto looked up from his phone a moment later, setting it screen down on the table as he cut Kuroo off before he could even begin. He was caught off guard for a moment, having to physically force back the word vomit that was already on the tip of his tongue.

“What is it?” Kuroo finally managed to speak, ignoring his racing heart. For a minute, he thought that maybe he and Bokuto had had the same stupid idea.

He couldn’t have been more wrong if he’d tried.

Bokuto was basically bouncing in his seat, excitement practically rolling off him in waves, “I had a date today!”

Kuroo’s mouth went dry, eyes widening in shock at Bokuto’s words. “Seriously?” The other apparently took his surprise for excitement, his grin widening.

“I know, right? He’s in one of my classes, he offered to tutor me a couple days ago. And he asked me out for lunch yesterday after the session,” Bokuto leaned back in his chair, sighing so happily it made Kuroo’s stomach twist painfully.

_ He? _

He wanted to scream.

“Since when are you gay?” The words were out of Kuroo’s mouth before he could stop them, a forced grin spread across his face as he attempted to match Bokuto’s excitement.

“You didn’t know? I thought you’d figured it out!” Bokuto raised his eyebrows, laughing a bit as he kicked Kuroo under the table, “And I thought  _ my _ gaydar was bad!”

“I figured if you were, you would’ve told me the day I told you!” Kuroo forced out a laugh, lightly shoving Bokuto’s arm.

“I didn’t think I needed to,” He retorted, crossing his arms, “But that’s not important! What  _ is _ is that I am officially not as bad as you at relationships,” Bokuto teased, leaning his elbows on the table.

_ Don’t fucking remind me. _

“Shut up!” Were the words that came out of Kuroo’s mouth instead, his fake smile starting to hurt his cheeks as he nudged Bokuto under the table, “I’m happy for you, dude. That’s great, really.”

“Thanks,” Bokuto laughed a bit, glancing at his phone when he heard it buzz, “He’s great, honestly. I think it might really work out.” He picked up his phone as he spoke, grin widening when he saw the notification.  _ Ah. That explains it. _

“I’m just gonna run to the bathroom for a sec, alright? Don’t pay the damn cheque.” Kuroo stood up, not waiting for Bokuto’s confirmation before he walked away from the table. He attempted to keep a normal pace, even though he was sure Bokuto would be too engrossed in his phone to notice even if he’d sprinted.

Kuroo shut and locked the door to the bathroom behind him, leaning against the sink as he took a moment to process the information that’d just been dumped on him. His limbs felt numb, the cold porcelain digging into his hands as the sound of his own heartbeat became almost deafening.

_ Bokuto was gay. _

Kuroo’d stood a shot this whole fucking time. This whole time, he’d been ignoring his feelings out of fear that he was falling for a straight guy. He’d had a damn good shot, and now it was slipping through his fingers like sand.

_ Bokuto was dating someone. _

Well, not technically. But that didn’t matter, did it? Bokuto obviously had feelings for the guy. Why else would he be telling Kuroo about the date, telling him that he thought it would become something? If it hadn’t’ve gone well, Bokuto wouldn’t be sitting out there in that booth, grinning at his phone like he’d just won the lottery while Kuroo stood in the bathroom and stared numbly at the white brick wall. The hesitation yesterday, the attachment to his phone ever since practice that morning. The radio silence Kuroo’d been so stressed out about. All of it, signs of something Kuroo had been too caught up in his own feelings to notice.

_ I lost my chance. _ The phrase repeated in his mind like a mantra, each word slicing into his chest until Kuroo was sure it would break through his ribcage. With shaking hands he pulled his vape out of his pocket, inhaling so deeply it hurt as he nicotine he’d been craving for hours rushed to his head. He closed his eyes, ignoring his shaky hands and racing heart and the burning pain behind his eyes. No chance in hell was he crying now; Bokuto may be caught up in the happiness of his own love life, but he wasn’t dense enough to ignore puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

Kuroo slipped his vape back in his pocket, splashing his face with cold water and drying it off with a paper towel. All he had to do was make it back to his apartment.

He stepped out of the bathroom once he was sure a cloud of vapour wouldn’t follow him on the way out, a lazy grin spread across his face. He moved on autopilot, paying the cheque and saying a polite goodbye to the waitress, all while Bokuto tapped out text messages on his phone. He finally forced himself to focus again as they climbed onto the bike; he wasn’t going to get into a fucking crash and risk their lives because of his own stupid emotions.

“You wanna come hang out for a bit? I’m pretty sure Kenma’s at my dorm too,” Bokuto spoke as Kuroo parked the bike in the student lot and shut off the engine, pulling off his helmet a little too aggressively.  
  
“I can’t, sorry. Professor gave us a huge ass test review this morning, and I gotta get started on it,” Kuroo shot him a grin. Bokuto pouted a little, but shrugged. He hadn’t noticed Kuroo’s change in demeanor, thank god.

“Alright, well we should do something sometime this week! I wanna introduce you to Aito, I think you guys’ll get along,” Bokuto held up his phone. Kuroo nodded a bit, refusing to voice the thought that he never wanted to meet ‘Aito’.

“I’m pretty busy, but you should bring him to Yamaguchi’s party,” Kuroo suggested, ignoring the small voice in the back of his head screaming at him to shut up, “That way everyone can meet him.” It would be a whole lot easier to avoid the damn couple in a crowd of their friends.

“You think that’ll be alright?” Bokuto perked up, smiling, “I’ll do that then!”

Kuroo nodded a bit, shooting a grin at the other man, “I’ll see you at practice, alright?” He raised a hand in a wave, before turning his back. He finally let his smile drop off his face, the taste of metal flooding his mouth as he chewed on the inside of his cheek and walked through the freezing night towards his dorm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry, but also not really. either way, i hope you guys liked this chapter, i havent really written much angst that didn't involve death/characters growing apart, so I hope its okay!!
> 
> *come yell at me on tumblr @kuidore!!!*


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moping, Another Party, and Distractions

Kuroo sure as hell didn’t start on that fucking test review that night.

He let out a sigh he didn’t realize he’d been holding in as he stepped into his empty dorm. His entire body was numb, the only feeling a slight tingle in his limbs as if he had just moved from sitting in the same position for hours on end. He hung his coat up in the closet, moving almost on autopilot as he sat down on the couch.

The tears didn’t come, even though the burning feeling behind his eyes and the pain in his chest were growing more intense with every passing second. He didn’t know whether his brain was refusing to completely process the information, or if he was just too mentally exhausted to cry.

So much time and energy he’d spent, stressing and worrying about hiding his own feelings. Now he knew he’d had a pretty damn good chance of getting what he’d wanted this whole time, and just had to watch it be ripped like a carpet from under his feet. All the relief he’d felt just a few hours ago, all the excitement and buildup to telling Bokuto his feelings, only for his chance to slip through his fingers at the last second.

_ One day earlier. If I had decided to confess a fucking day earlier, it could’ve been me. _

The fact that Bokuto was gay didn’t guarentee he would’ve shared Kuroo’s feelings. Rationally, he knew that. But not a single one of his friends had deterred him from pursing his feelings, not a single one had opposed his crush on Bokuto. They’d known something he hadn’t, Kuroo was sure of it. Hell, even Kenma had said that Bokuto seemed to like him!

_ So why? _

Why the hell did he have to be such a coward? Why the hell, if Bokuto did like him, did he go on a date with someone else? Kenma must’ve been wrong. He had to have been. Bokuto knew he was bi, he didn’t have the question of sexuality barring him from pursuing something. If he’d wanted a relationship with Kuroo, if he’d wanted  _ anything _ more than friendship, he would’ve done something. Right?

That was what hurt the most. The full knowledge that it wasn’t sexuality standing in his way. It was just the fact that Bokuto didn’t  _ want _ more than a friendship with him.

“I guess I got my closure,” Kuroo murmured into the empty apartment, as if someone else would hear him. A bitter chuckle escaped his lips, watery and bordering on defeated. This was what he’d wanted, right? He’d been prepared for the rejection, he’d known that it was a very real possibility from the moment he’d realized his own feelings. 

Then why did it hurt so much?

Kuroo snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the door opening. He could’ve been sitting there for seconds or hours, alone in the darkness of their dorm. He didn’t know. He glanced up, not even attempting to hide the tears welling up in his eyes as Kenma stepped into the dorm.

From the look on his face, it seemed he already knew.

“Bokuto told you about his date?” Kuroo choked out, pursing his lips as he locked his gaze on the dark screen of the television again.

“Yeah.” Kenma closed the door softly, settling himself on the couch. He opened his arms, and Kuroo didn’t hesitate, leaning into his best friend's side with his head pressed against his chest. Kenma’s hand rubbed circles into his back, offering silent comfort as they sat in the darkness of their dorm.

“He’s bringing him to Yamaguchi’s party,” Kuroo breathed out, closing his eyes in a half-assed attempt to fight off the tears, “I lost my chance.”

“You never know what could happen,” Kenma murmured, “Not all relationships work out. Did you even tell him?”

Kuroo let out a deadpan laugh, shaking his head, “Of course I didn’t. I’m not that selfish, I won’t ruin this for him with my own shit.”

“He doesn’t even know you’re an option. He could choose you.”

“If he wanted me, he would’ve done something. He knew I liked guys,” Kuroo muttered, wrapping an arm around Kenma in a half-hug, “He seemed happy. Said he really liked the guy, and that he thought it could be something really good. I wouldn’t put that in jeopardy.”

“I understand,” Kenma ran his fingers through Kuroo’s hair, smoothing out the wind-swept strands.

“It’s a dumb crush. I’ll get over it soon enough, this just makes it a little easier,” Kuroo sat up, wiping his eyes with a watery huff.

“You’re allowed to be sad about it,” Kenma commented, “You don’t have to pretend you’re okay.”

He laughed a bit, a small smile pulling at his lips, “I know. But I can’t wallow in it. Bo’d notice, and I couldn’t do that to him.” Kuroo refused to let Bokuto feel guilty about being happy.

Kenma nodded in understanding, “I’m guessing you don’t want everyone to know?”

“They’ll find out on Tuesday anyways,” Kuroo commented, “But don’t tell them, not yet. I’d rather avoid the pity stares as long as I can,” He laughed half-heartedly at his attempt to make a joke. Kenma just nodded, fingers running through Kuroo’s hair as they sat in silence. The quiet comfort was more help than any words could’ve provided him at that point.

“I’m gonna go lay down.” Kuroo finally broke the silence when he was sure the words would actually leave his throat, ignoring the concerned look Kenma had shot in his direction as he stood up. It had been a long time since he’d felt the sting of rejection, but he’d survive. Kuroo just hoped this was enough to squash his stupid feelings.

“Alright..” Kenma nodded, turning on the television, “I’ll be out here for a while if you need me.”

He just shot him a grateful smile, before closing his bedroom door and collapsing on top of his comforter. The tears finally came as he stared blankly at his ceiling, hot and continually rolling down his cheeks as he bit back the sobs that threatened to crawl up from his chest. The mental stress of repressing his emotions was starting to give him a headache. It was barely eight, but Kuroo already felt exhausted.

Eventually the tears stopped, and he rolled onto his side in favour of staring at his wall. He knew he should probably change into his pajamas, but he couldn’t bring himself to stand up, zoning out until even the pain behind his temples and the ringing in his ears became a sort of background noise and he finally passed out.  
  


~

Tuesday came a lot faster than Kuroo would’ve liked.

He’d never had time pass faster than during the 36 hours following his and Bokuto’s not-date. He’d managed, somehow, to get himself together enough to make it through practices without tipping anyone off. He’d texted Bokuto occasionally, avoiding his attempts to hangout with half-assed excuses about homework or tests. Nothing in Bokuto’s replies ever indicated he thought anything was off; Kuroo didn’t know whether he was relieved or hurt.

Eventually, he’d have to get over himself and face him outside of a group setting; he couldn’t avoid it forever. Kuroo knew that, but he also knew he’d do something he regretted if he tried to pretend things were completely normal right now. Besides, Bokuto would probably be too caught up in his new relationship to notice Kuroo avoiding him, for a couple weeks at least. As bitter as it made him, Kuroo was thankful he’d have some time to sort himself out. 

He was the most thankful that he hadn’t decided to run and tell any of his other friends about his stupid decision to confess. Kenma had kept his word, and as far as Kuroo knew, no one else except Akaashi knew about his moping. The both of them were attempting to pretend things were normal, but Kuroo knew they were concerned. He appreciated it, really, but the pity was already starting to get old. It wasn’t like he’d been dumped, or that he and Bokuto had actually been anything more than friends; he didn’t need people to tiptoe around his feelings. They’d fade soon enough.

“You don’t have to go, y’know,” Kenma commented, standing in the doorway of the bathroom as Kuroo washed his face, “You have studying to do, I’m sure everyone would understand.”

He knew Kenma meant well, but Kuroo needed to face the truth at some point. He already felt pathetic enough, sitting in his bedroom with tear stained cheeks mourning a relationship that never actually existed. Neither option would make him feel  _ good _ , but skipping out on a party just ‘cause Bokuto was gonna bring his boyfriend would just make him feel like that much more of a pitiful moron. “I’ll be fine, Kenma. Really, I promise,” He assured, shooting him a smile, “Besides, no one would believe I’d miss a party to  _ study _ ,” He joked, lightly elbowing the shorter man in the side as he stepped out of the bathroom. Kenma looked unconvinced, shaking his head a bit as he stepped into his bedroom to change.

“Come in,” Kuroo called, settling himself on the couch as he heard a knock on their dorm room door. He glanced over as Akaashi stepped inside, raising a hand in greeting.

“That’s a very good way to get robbed,” He commented, an amused smile on his face.

“We’re broke university students, what the hell are they gonna steal?” Kuroo joked, crossing his arms, “Besides, I could fight off a robber. Are you doubting me or something?”

“I would never, Kuroo-san,” Akaashi put a hand over his chest, the deadpan expression making the sarcastic politeness that much funnier.

“Drop the fuckin’ -san, already. You’re dating my best friend, you don’t have to keep talking to me so formally,” Kuroo tutted, slipping his phone in his pocket.

“Habit. My apologies, Pain-in-the-ass Kuroo-san,” Akaashi retorted.

“That’s no better! You didn’t even remove the -san! Also, when did you come up with that?” Kuroo scoffed, grinning as he slipped on his shoes.

“Just now. Fitting, isn’t it?”

“God, quit bickering,” Kenma rolled his eyes as he stepped out of his room, a slight smile pulling at his lips. Kuroo and Akaashi just shared an amused glance, smiling innocently at Kenma as if they had no clue what he was talking about, “You two are insufferable. C’mon, lets go. I’d rather not deal with Tooru bitching about us being late.” Kenma slipped on his shoes, taking Akaashi’s hand in his own as they stepped out of the dorm. In their attempts to tiptoe around Kuroo’s moping, they’d dialed it down a bit on the PDA (not that there had been all that much to begin with) to make him feel less like a third wheel. He’d told them to cut it out, that he wasn’t that sensitive even if he appreciated the thought, but it hadn’t deterred them thus far.

“Bokuto didn’t come with you?” Kuroo broke the silence as they stepped outside, his tone suggesting that his words were more of a statement than a question.

Akaashi stayed quiet for a moment as they approached the student parking lot, the only sound being Kuroo’s keys as he spun them around his finger. He'd agreed to drive them to Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s place to save them the cab fare, knowing that they’d all be crashing at their apartment instead of going home anyways. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Kenma and Akaashi share a silently concerned look. For a minute, Kuroo thought that he was just going to ignore the question.

“No,” Keiji finally answered, “He went to pick up Aito.”

Kuroo had known what the answer was going to be, but it still hurt nonetheless.  _ I must be a damn masochist or something. _ He thought to himself, simply nodding in response to Akaashi’s answer as he climbed into the driver's seat of his car. Kenma climbed into the passenger seat, while Akaashi looked at the car suspiciously from the outside as he opened the door.

“Will this thing even start?”

“Yes, it’ll start!” Kuroo feigned offence, putting the key into the ignition as if to prove a point. Akaashi shook his head a little, climbing into the back seat nonetheless, “My car isn’t that bad!”

“It is that bad,” Both of the passengers answered in unison. Kuroo just groaned, pouting a bit. Sure, the red paint was starting to chip and rust, and there were a couple burn marks and cuts in the leather seats, and the thing sounded like absolute shit. But it was still a good car!

The apartment was already pretty packed by the time they showed up; it seemed the only people who hadn’t already arrived were Bokuto and Aito. Kuroo was more than grateful for that; he’d at least be able to get some sort of drugs into his system before he had to deal with  _ that _ situation.

“Finally!” Oikawa shook his head in fake disappointment as they stepped into the apartment.

“Oh shut up, we’re not even late,” Kuroo retorted, grinning a little. It was obvious from both Oikawa’s eyes and the smell of the apartment that someone had already brought out the weed.

“Leave ‘em alone, idiot,” Iwaizumi shook his head, wrapping an arm around Oikawa’s waist as he greeted the three. Akaashi and Kenma made their way out of the crowded living room and into the kitchen, while Kuroo followed the sound of Tanaka and Nishinoya yelling at the top of their lungs.

“C’mon, you’re already harassing the poor kids?” Kuroo teased, walking up to the group who were apparently attempting to convince Kageyama and Hinata to do a keg stand.

“Gotta start early!” Tanaka grinned a bit, turning his attention back to where Lev was attempting to hoist himself onto a keg without help. Kuroo glanced around the circle of people, tossing a small bag on the couch beside where Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were sitting.

“Happy birthday,” He grinned a bit, raising an eyebrow as the brunet shot him a surprised look, “What? You think I’m enough of an asshole not to bring a gift?”

“I’m more scared to see what it is,” Yamaguchi joked, shooting a grin at Kuroo as he pulled out the tissue paper.

“Tsukki! Stop giving your boyfriend a bad first impression of me,” He put a hand over his heart, ignoring the eyeroll he got in return.

“Please tell me this is what I think it is,” Yamaguchi laughed as he saw the bright fabric stuffed into the bottom of the bag.

“It most definitely is,” Kuroo grinned, watching in delight as Tsukishima peeked into the bag only to immediately glare at him, “What? You don’t want your boyfriend to have a matching dinosaur onesie?”

“Oh god, is that really what you got him?” Suga cackled, standing from his spot on Daichi’s lap to look in the bag.

“This is great, seriously,” Yamaguchi grinned, looking at Tsukishima with a too-innocent smile, “We can match now!”

“Shut up, Tadashi,” Tsukishima groaned, bringing a hand to his face to hide his own laughter.

“There’s a gift card in there too, but the onesie was the main gift,” Kuroo grinned, settling himself down on an empty space by the coffee table.

“Thank you,” Yamaguchi snickered a bit as he closed the bag again, setting it behind the couch along with what Kuroo assumed were his other presents.

“I wish I’d thought of that,” Suga joked, settling himself back on his boyfriend’s lap.

“I know, I know, I’m a genius.” Kuroo did a little bow, turning his head over his shoulder to yell at Oikawa from across the room, “Yo Tooru! I’m stealing some of your weed!” He didn’t wait for an answer, knowing Oikawa wouldn’t care as he reached for the horribly-decorated bong sitting in the centre of the coffee table.

“I still can’t believe Iwaizumi hasn’t smashed that yet,” Daichi said as Kuroo opened up the stupid alien grinder to pack himself a bowl, shaking his head a bit.

“I’m pretty sure the only reason he hasn’t is ‘cause Oikawa put a little godzilla sticker on it for him,” Tsukishima pointed out, raising an eyebrow as Kuroo pulled out his lighter, “Are you trying to die tonight?”

“Oh please, this is nothing!” Kuroo waved him off, attempting not to spill anything as he brought the bong into his lap to light it.

“Your tolerance concerns me sometimes,” Yaku commented as he settled himself on the couch beside Daichi and Suga, obviously tired of trying to dissuade Lev from doing dumb shit at the suggestion of Nishinoya and Tanaka.

“Good, that’s my only goal,” Kuroo grinned, tipping his head forward and clearing the bowl in one hit. He blew a couple ringlets of smoke out, the rest coming out in short bursts as he laughed at Suga booing him.   
“Quit trying to act cool!” Suga practically yelled at him, cupping his hands around his mouth for added effect. Kuroo just flipped him off, attempting to exhale the last of the smoke without laughing or coughing.

“Why did no one tell me we were smoking?” Terushima whined, appearing as if summoned by the bubbling water and plopping himself on the carpet beside Kuroo with a grin. He raised an eyebrow as he saw Terushima set a half-empty bottle of tequila down on the coffee table. 

“Didn’t even know you were here yet,” Kuroo snickered, handing off the bong to him as he was elbowed in the side.   
“I’m hurt,” He joked, reaching for the grinder to pack himself a bowl.

“You were smoking with Oikawa like, five minutes ago,” Yamaguchi scoffed a bit, leaning into Tsukishima’s side as he took a sip of his cooler. Terushima tutted, waving him off.

“Shh, doesn’t matter,” He laughed, clearing the bowl easily and blowing the smoke out his nose, “Where’s Bo? I figured he would’ve come with you guys,” Terushima spoke once the smoke was out of his lungs. Kuroo forced his lazy grin to stay on his face, leaning his weight back on his hands as he prepared himself for the pity looks he was sure to get from, at the very least, Suga, Yaku, and Daichi. Before he could, the sound of Oikawa’s yelling interrupted him.

“Kou-chan! You’re late!”

Kuroo looked over his shoulder, teeth digging into his cheek as he watched Bokuto step into the apartment, “There he is,” He chuckled a bit, reaching forward to grab the bottle of tequila. Terushima probably wouldn’t mind. He downed a mouthful of the alcohol, ignoring the burning in his throat as he tried to wash away the sight of Bokuto standing hand in hand with who Kuroo could only assume was Aito.

“Who’s that?” Suga raised an eyebrow, apparently looking to Kuroo for an answer. Daichi was already staring at him with his stupid fatherly concern.

“The guy he’s seeing,” Kuroo answered as casually as he could, taking another long sip from the bottle. Yaku and Tsukishima both raised an eyebrow at him, while Suga and Daichi just looked at each other.

“Since when does Bo have a boyfriend?” Terushima snickered, apparently oblivious to the tension. Kuroo was a little relieved; at least he knew there’d be  _ someone _ who wouldn’t be staring at him like they were preparing for an outburst or some tears for the whole night.

“He’s his tutor, they went out on a date on Sunday. Not sure when they met, though,” Kuroo moved to stand up, ignoring his friends' stares as he approached the happy couple. He’d look a lot more suspicious if he just sat and ignored Bokuto for the whole night. May as well get the introduction out of the way as soon as he could.

“Kuroo!” Bokuto grinned widely, raising a hand in a wave when he saw him walking towards them. Oikawa stood beside them, shooting the fakest smile Kuroo had ever seen at Aito (that was saying a whole lot, especially when it was Oikawa). He appreciated the protectiveness, but Kuroo didn’t need anyone else giving him away tonight. He’d have a hard enough time  _ not _ doing it himself.

Apparently though, Iwaizumi was already on it, pulling Oikawa away as Kuroo walked towards the door. He shot Kuroo a half-smile, taking his boyfriend out of the situation before he did something stupid.

“Hey. You’re late, thought you weren’t gonna show,” Kuroo teased, forcing a grin on his face as Bokuto pulled him into one of those straight guy half-hugs, clapping him on the back.

“Shut up! We’re not that late,” Bokuto laughed, “Besides, I wouldn’t miss Yama’s birthday!”

“God, wait until you see the gift I got him. Tsukki’s never gonna forgive me,” He grinned, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jean jacket.

“Oh, shit! I almost forgot, Aito, this is Kuroo,” Bokuto turned to the man standing beside him, “Kuroo, this is Aito.”

Kuroo gave the man a once over, refusing to let his smile drop off his face. He was a little taller than Bokuto, and a little skinnier, with blonde hair and dark eyes. His lips were pulled into a wide smile, and Kuroo would probably think the guy was pretty attractive if he didn’t already hate him a little. He got a bit of childish satisfaction when he realized that Aito was shorter than him.

“Nice to meet you,” Aito held out a hand. Kuroo glanced at it, reluctantly pulling his hand out of his pocket to shake it with his own.

“Yeah, same to you,” He smiled, “Ken and Akaashi are still in the kitchen I think,” Kuroo jerked his chin towards the doorway, “Everyone else is in the living room. Pretty sure Lev’s gonna break something, he keeps trying to do a keg stand with no support.”

Bokuto burst out laughing, running a hand through his hair, “That doesn’t even surprise me. C’mon, let’s go to the kitchen, I’ll introduce you to my roommate!” He shot that stupid, blinding smile in Aito’s direction, and Kuroo resisted the urge to grit his teeth. The blond gave him a polite before he was dragged off, leaving him standing along with a bitter taste in his mouth.

_ He seems nice. _

Kuroo hated it. It would be a whole lot easier to dislike the guy if he was a dick.

“When the hell did that happen?” Kuroo jumped a little, too focused on his attempts to find something to hate about Aito to have noticed Oikawa stomping up to him with Iwaizumi in tow.

“Tooru..” Iwaizumi sighed, shooting a warning glance in his boyfriend's direction. Kuroo smiled a little, thankful for the support.

“Not entirely sure. They went out for the first time on Sunday,” He answered, determined to remain nonchalant. Oikawa just looked pissed, “Don’t start shit, alright? I appreciate the protectiveness, but I’ve accepted it. Bo’s happy with him, so don’t fuck that up.”

“I’m not going to do anything,” Oikawa huffed, crossing his arms and nearly spilling his cooler all over his own shirt, “But that doesn’t mean I’m happy about him being around.”

“Believe me, I’m not happy about it either. There’s nothing to do about it now,” Kuroo sighed, glancing in the direction of the kitchen, “But I’m fine, really.”

Both Oikawa and Iwaizumi shot him disbelieving looks, but didn’t comment on it further. Kuroo turned around once he was sure his interrogation was done with, walking back towards the living room. He could only hope that Oikawa would actually listen to him, or at the very least, that Iwaizumi would stop him from doing something stupid.

Kuroo settled himself back down on the floor beside Terushima again. Apparently Nishinoya and Tanaka had given up on tormenting the first years, as they’d somehow managed to squish themselves into what little couch and chair space remained, both half sitting on Asahi’s lap. Hinata, Kageyama, and Lev had obviously been booted to the floor, and Kuroo shot Yaku a wide grin as he watched the silver-haired first year settle himself on the floor just beneath where he was sitting.

He just snickered when Yaku mouthed at him to shut the fuck up, reaching to steal the bottle of tequila from Terushima.

“Oi! Quit taking my alcohol, you dick,” The blond joked, handing over the bottle anyways.

“Senpai rights, Teru. Gotta confiscate this before you get too drunk,” He retorted, resting an elbow on his knee as he took a sip.

“Oh please, if anyone needs their alcohol confiscated, it’s you,” Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

“Shut up and give your boyfriend some attention, it’s his birthday!” Kuroo waved him off, grinning at the blush that spread across his face.

“He’s right,” Yamaguchi joked, draping his legs over Tsukishima’s lap.

“Alright, alright, get a room!” Tanaka chirped, ignoring Asahi’s flinch as he basically yelled in his boyfriend’s ear.

“Yeah, we don’t need a repeat of the frat party! No one else needs to see that,” Nishinoya added, leaning his head against Asahi’s shoulder.

“Both of you quit yelling, you’re gonna make Asahi go deaf,” Daichi grumbled, running his fingers through his drunk boyfriend’s hair as Suga attempted to grab his drink off the coffee table without getting out of his lap.

“I think that’d only help him at this point,” Terushima joked.

“Probably not, they’d just get louder,” Asahi sighed teasingly, ignoring the offended cries of the men in his lap.

“He does have a point,” Kuroo raised the tequila bottle as if proposing a toast before handing it back to Terushima. Before anyone else could start yelling, Oikawa came out of the kitchen precariously balancing a huge cake in his hands, followed by Akaashi, Kenma, Bokuto and Aito who settled themselves on the empty spaces on the floor.

“Everyone shut up, we’re doing Yamaguchi’s cake now!” He yelled.

“Why the hell’d you light the candles, moron? You’re gonna drop it and light something on fire again!” Kuroo retorted, giving a wide grin in response to the glare he got.

“Please don’t start singing,” Yamaguchi let out a nervous chuckle, shifting to sit up as Oikawa somehow managed to set down the cake without dropping it on anyone’s head this time. He blew out the candles with a wide grin, followed by a round of way too loud cheering and a wolf whistle from who Kuroo could only assume was Bokuto.

“Someone take the damn knife and cut it before Tooru can, I’d rather not have to drive to the hospital again,” Daichi snickered a bit as Oikawa sat down on the ground, pulling Iwaizumi down beside him. Kuroo was sure he was mentally reliving the year that Oikawa had knocked the cake knife off the table and sliced the shit out of his hand trying to catch it.

“Stop bullying me!” He whined, crossing his arms. Iwaizumi obliged Daichi’s request, reaching forward to slice up the cake and handing out the paper plates. He nearly stabbed Nishinoya as the libero reached forward to stick a finger in the icing, almost immediately being whacked by both Daichi and Asahi.

“Didn’t I  _ just _ say I didn’t want to have to drive to the hospital?”

“I’m good,” Kuroo shook his head a bit as Terushima went to hand him a plate.

“C’mon, seriously? Who says no to cake?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, I came here on an empty stomach to get as drunk as possible, I’m not letting a slice of cake ruin that,” He put his hands up as if to say the decision was out of his hands.

“Please tell me you’re joking,” Suga shook his head a little, shooting Kuroo with a look he could only describe with the words ‘parental disappointment’.

“Of course I’m joking!” He wasn’t.

“He’s not joking,” Kenma piped up, taking a bite of his own slice of cake, “He ate one thing today, and it was a bag of sour skittles.”  _ Traitor. _

“Seriously?” Terushima laughed, bumping his shoulder against Kuroo’s, “Take the damn slice of cake, you moron.”

“Fine, but if this inhibits my ability to get drunk, I’m blaming it on you,” He let out a dramatic sigh, grabbing a fork from the table and taking the plate from Terushima.

“For someone constantly bitching at people to eat, you’re horrible at doing it yourself,” Bokuto teased, grinning at Kuroo from across the coffee table.

“Shut up, I had classes all day! I didn’t have time to eat,” He grumbled, fighting off his own smile as he stuffed a forkful of cake in his mouth, “You have icing on your face, by the way.”

“Really?” Bokuto huffed, reaching for a napkin to wipe it away. Kuroo stifled his laughter with the back of his hand so he didn’t spew chunks of cake all over the table, ignoring Suga’s fake gagging.

Kuroo finished off his cake quickly, adding to the stack of empty paper plates sitting on the coffee table. The alcohol and weed were starting to hit him, a slight tingle beginning to settle in his limbs. For the first time since Sunday night, the pain in his chest had started to subside. It reared his head again each time his eyes flicked to where Bokuto and Aito were sitting, hand in hand and completely unaware of the conversation around them. He really was a masochist; every few seconds, it seemed his eyes were drawn to the couple as if they were a bright light in the middle of a dark room. Oh well, it couldn’t be avoided. Not when he was still somewhat sober, at least.

“I’m gonna go grab another drink,” He muttered to no one in particular, starting to get a little fed up when Aito wrapped an arm around Bokuto’s shoulders, pulling him into his side and playing with his hair. He ignored the feeling of multiple pairs of eyes on his back as he withdrew into the kitchen in search of more alcohol. There was a nauseous feeling settling in his stomach that had nothing to do with the tequila.

“You alright?” Kuroo nearly dropped the bottle of vodka he was chugging from as Terushima spoke, coughing and spilling a little on his hoodie as he moved to set it down.  _ At least it’s a black one. _

“Perfect,” He choked out, fighting back a laugh as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, “Just needed some more alcohol.”

Terushima raised an eyebrow, leaning against the counter and grabbing the bottle, taking a swig of his own, “It’s Bo, right?”

_ Damn.  _ Terushima was a lot more perceptive than he’d thought.

“Yeah, yeah it is,” Kuroo chuckled a bit. He was too tipsy to be a convincing liar at that point, and he saw no reason to lie to Terushima anyways. He’d obviously figured things out for himself anyways.

“I’m sorry, man.” Terushima shot him a half-smile.

“God, don’t give me the pity shit, please,” He chuckled bitterly, grabbing a bottle of beer from the fridge and popping the cap off with his teeth, “I’m getting enough of it from everyone else, don’t you start too.”

“Alright, deal,” Terushima laughed, hopping up to sit on the kitchen island, “Figured you’d want some company anyhow. They’re arguing about something stupid, so I doubt they’ll miss me out there.”

“What is it this time?” Kuroo snorted, absentmindedly chewing on the ball of his tongue stud.

“Whether or not Tooru is easy to goad into an argument,” Terushima grinned, resting his elbows on his knees.

“You’re fucking shitting me.” Kuroo tipped his head back, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Dear god, how that man hasn’t given Iwaizumi a fuckin’ aneurism yet, I have no clue,”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Terushima shook his head a bit, taking another swig from the vodka bottle. Kuroo just shook his head, downing half his beer in a single gulp, “Are you trying to drown your liver or something?”

“Pretty much,” He chuckled a bit, “Not like you’re one to talk. You’ve been drinking nothing but liquor, at least I’m having beer right now.”

“Alright, that’s fair,” He shrugged, “But I’m doing it cause I want to.”

“And you’re implying I have other reasons?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow, letting out a breathy laugh as Terushima just shot him a deadpan look, “Alright, alright, I get it. Shut up about it already.”

“Make me,” The younger man smirked a little, cocking his head to the side.

“Don’t test me,” Kuroo retorted, teeth digging into the inside of his cheek as he bit back a laugh. For some reason, he felt guilt swirling in his stomach; as if flirting with Terushima was wrong in some way. He chased away the feeling with the last of his beer.

“Why not?” Terushima arched an eyebrow, “My offer still stands, y’know. Seems like a damn good way to get over your feelings. At the very least it’s a distraction.”

Kuroo glanced at the door to the kitchen for a moment, as if he expected someone to walk in. He did, a little; that was normally how his luck went.

“You’re really that willing to be just a distraction?” He arched an eyebrow, leaning against the counter.

“Like I said, I don’t want a relationship. Neither do you, not with me at least. Seems like a good thing for us both,” Terushima smiled a bit. Kuroo searched his face for any indication he was being anything but entirely truthful; the last thing he wanted was to hurt someone in his attempts to get over his dumbass crush, “Come on, I’m being serious. You’re really fuckin’ cool, but I don’t have a crush on you or anything. I just think you’re hot.”

“Alright, sure. Why the fuck not?” He chuckled a bit, answering once he was sure Terushima meant what he’d said. The last time, he’d had his feelings for Bokuto standing in his way. But  _ he _ was currently sitting in the living room, cuddling up with his new boyfriend. No feelings, just sex sounded like exactly what Kuroo needed. 

“Really?” Terushima’s grin widened, as if he was surprised that Kuroo had actually said yes, “Hell yeah!” Kuroo laughed a bit as he watched the younger man hop off the counter, the bottle of vodka forgotten.

“Where the hell’re we gonna go? There’s no way either of us are driving back to campus.” He pointed out as Terushima dragged him to the door. He also wasn’t in the mood to wait for a cab, but if that was their only option, he’d gladly take it.

“A friend of mine lives in this building. He gave me his keys while he was out of town so I could feed his cat,” Terushima smirked as he closed the door behind them. Kuroo didn’t even care that the slam would probably be more than enough to alert their friends that they’d left early, “We can go back to campus after if you want, but I  _ really  _ don’t wanna wait for a cab right now.”

“So we’re gonna break into your friend’s apartment to fuck, and then go back to campus just cause you don’t wanna wait ten minutes?” He laughed, following the younger man into the elevator. Tershushima had never come off as a patient person anyways, so Kuroo wasn’t really all that surprised.

“You got a better idea?” He raised an eyebrow, hitting the button for the top floor.

“Good point,” Kuroo grinned, pinning Terushima to the wall of the elevator the second the doors closed behind them. The kiss was a lot less gentle than their last, all tongue and metal barbells as Kuroo’s hands slipped beneath the other’s t-shirt, “Did you plan this out or something?” He murmured when he pulled away, grinning when he saw Yuuji’s blush.

“Nope, just a damn good coincidence,” Terushima breathed out, laughing. Kuroo felt nails digging into the skin of his neck, pulling him back down into the kiss, and he was more than happy to reciprocate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn 3 chapters in 3 days
> 
> no fuckin' clue where all this sudden inspiration came from, probably the three weeks i spent deciding which storyline i wanted to do. either way, i'm not gonna question it
> 
> also for any of you wondering, i don't think this story is gonna have any explicit smut or anything. so i’m sorry if any of you were looking for that or anything, but i’m not super comfortable with writing it and this story just isn’t about that it’s much more about plot, so i just wanted to let u guys know.
> 
> i hope you guys liked this chapter, leave comments/kudos if u want to!
> 
> *Come yell at me on tumblr!!!! @kuidore*


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Concern, Studying, and a whole lot of Hickeys

Kuroo woke up the next morning feeling even worse than he had after the frat party, and it had nothing to do with the alcohol.

Okay, maybe it had a little to do with the alcohol.

He had to untangle himself from both Terushima and the bedsheets, struggling to pull on his boxers so he wasn’t walking around a stranger’s apartment in the nude. They never actually made it back to campus; neither of them wanted to throw their clothes back on and get a cab, especially when Kuroo would have to come back in the morning to get his car and drive Akaashi and Kenma home anyways. Instead they’d chosen to pass out, a tangled mess of sweaty limbs and sheets sometime in the early morning. Neither of them had cared to keep track of the time, for obvious reasons.

Kuroo made it to the bathroom just in time, leaning over the toilet as he threw up the remaining contents of his stomach. The nausea was the most intense part of his hangover, thank god; he didn’t want to have to dig through the cupboards in search of aspirin that may or may not be there at all. He rinsed his mouth out with tap water and stole some of the mouthwash sitting on the counter - he was sure Terushima’s friend wouldn’t miss the capful - to get the gross flavour of stale tequila and bile out of his mouth.

He spit out the mouthwash, standing up straight and looking at himself in the mirror. He’d looked worse, that was for sure. His hair was an absolute mess (he’d learned pretty quickly that Terushima was a tugger), but the bags under his eyes didn’t seem any worse than usual.

The most striking aspect of his appearance were the dark bruises and teeth marks littered across his body. He didn’t even think his hoodie would be enough to fully cover them; they went all the way up to his jaw, showcasing the scattered path Terushima’s mouth had taken across his body the night before. He turned his leg to the side, fighting off a snort as he saw the marks end at his inner thighs. At least those ones would be pretty easy to hide. He didn’t doubt Terushima looked basically the same, if not worse; being gentle had been the last thing on either of their minds last night.

For some reason, Kuroo felt guilty. He hadn’t even thought of Bokuto after they’d left the party, much too focused on Terushima. He had no logical  _ reason _ to feel guilty; he hadn’t cheated on Bokuto, hell, they weren't even together! Bokuto had a boyfriend, or whatever the fuck Aito was. Kuroo shouldn’t feel guilty for hooking up with someone else.

He was pulled out of his own thoughts (and nearly knocked over) when Terushima stepped into the bathroom in his boxers. He made a beeline for the toilet, dropping to his knees as he emptied the contents of his stomach into the porcelain bowl. Kuroo looked away, fighting off a laugh when the younger man stood back up a minute later.

“A little hungover?” He teased, raising an eyebrow as he moved out of the way, letting Terushima wash his mouth out under the sink.

“Shut up,” The younger man grumbled, hiding his grin as he wiped the water away from his mouth.

“I’m surprised you even get hangovers with how much you party,” Kuroo commented, handing over the bottle of mouthwash. Terushima shot him a grateful look, gargling a mouthful straight from the container.

“I’m not that bad, I’ve been a  _ lot _ worse,” He grinned a bit, leaning over the sink to wash his face.

“I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get to see the best of the best,” Kuroo joked as he stepped out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.

“Oh fuck off,” Terushima shoved his shoulder a bit as he followed him out, grabbing his discarded clothing from the bedroom floor.

“We should probably make the bed and shit, huh?” He chuckled a bit, grabbing his wrinkled jeans off the floor. Terushima nodded, pulling on his shirt.

“Oh yeah. Kazuma’ll murder me if he finds out I fucked someone in his apartment,” Terushima cackled, moving to try to smooth out the bedsheets. Kuroo laughed, shaking his head as he pulled on his hoodie, helping the younger man pull the comforter over the bed.

“Are you kidding? Why would he ever be mad about something like that?” He said sarcastically, grabbing his phone off the nightstand. He had probably about a hundred texts and a couple missed calls from his friends. He wasn’t surprised; the most info he’d given anyone was a text to Kenma in between rounds, simply telling the other he wasn’t gonna be going back to Oikawa’s but he’d be there in the morning to drive them home.

“No clue, his mind works in strange ways,” Terushima snickered, attempting to fix his hair. Kuroo had given up after about five minutes in the bathroom; it didn’t look any worse than usual, and if anything was going to give away what he and Terushima had done, it wouldn’t be his hair. As expected, his hoodie didn’t do jack shit to cover the hickeys. Terushima’s t-shirt didn’t do much better.

“Oikawa’s been texting me nonstop for the past ten minutes,” Kuroo commented, skimming over the messages, “Apparently he thinks we’ve been kidnapped, and said if we want breakfast we better get our asses to his apartment now.” Terushima cackled a little, checking his own phone.

“I’m getting basically the same thing from Lev, but probably with a lot more exclamation points,” He shook his head, slipping his phone in his pocket, “You down for breakfast?”

“I’m always down for breakfast. I’ve gotta drive Kenma and Akaashi back to campus too, so I don’t have a choice either way,” He grinned a little, pulling on his shoes.

It was a lot more casual than Kuroo thought it would be, walking back down to Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s apartment. He’d expected it to be awkward, if not totally silent. That was how most of his past hookups had gone, if he was even there when the other person had woken up. But there was nothing like that; they’d pretty clearly stated it had had nothing to do with feelings, so neither of them were tiptoeing around and worrying if it had meant more to one than the other. They just laughed as they stepped out of the elevator, speculating on what had happened after they’d left.

“My bet? Lev probably tried to confess to Yaku again, Hinata and Kageyama might’ve finally stopped being bitches and kissed, and Yamaguchi probably passed out drunk in Tsukishima’s lap,” Terushima commented, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Nah, Yaku probably  _ punched _ Lev before he got the chance to confess again. But everything else, I definitely agree with,” Kuroo grinned, bringing a hand up to knock on Oikawa’s door.

It swung open less than a second later, revealing Oikawa with a hand on his hip. Surprisingly, he didn’t look too hungover.

“Where the hell did you two go!” It was less of a question, more of Oikawa just yelling at them, whacking them both on the shoulder, “You disappeared without saying anythi-” The yelling immediately stopped a moment later, Oikawa’s eyes widening as his eyes flicked down to Kuroo’s neck. His anger immediately morphed into surprise and amusement, and Kuroo had to fight off a blush.

“I told Kenma I wasn’t gonna be back until morning, blame him if you heard nothing. Now shut the fuck up,” Kuroo elbowed him in the side as he stepped into the apartment, grinning a bit at the smell of bacon coming from the kitchen.

“Yeah, shut the fuck up!” Came a groan from the living room, sounding vaguely like Suga. Kuroo raised an eyebrow, snickering a bit as he caught sight of nearly everyone either half-dead or completely passed out on some surface in the living room. Daichi and Asahi were sitting alone on the couch, just looking tired as they basically chugged down mugs of what Kuroo assumed was coffee.

“No! This is important!” Oikawa called back, dragging Kuroo and Terushima into the kitchen for some sort of privacy. Akaashi and Kenma were both up, sitting on stools by the kitchen island with cups of tea in their hands. Iwaizumi was by the stove, busying himself with a pan of hashbrowns.

Kenma and Akaashi both nodded in greeting, but the looks they both shot at Kuroo’s marked neck told him that he’d definitely be getting a bit of a lecture when they had more privacy.

“What the hell?” Oikawa whisper-yelled, turning to look at Terushima and Kuroo with wide eyes, “When did this happen?”

“Last night,” Terushima answered, grinning a bit. He let out a yelp when Oikawa whacked him in the arm.

“Not what I meant! Why, when,  _ where _ ?!”

“Oikawa’ lay off of them,” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, looking back with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, fuck off!” Kuroo retorted, fighting off a laugh, “Quit making a big deal out of shit, people hook up all the time.”

“Not you! You suck at hookups,” Oikawa retorted, plopping himself down in one of the barstools with a huff.  _ True, but still rude. _

“I mean-” Terushima started, only to be shut up when Kuroo elbowed him in the side.

“Please do not give him any more ammunition,” He shot the younger man a venomless glare. Terushima just grinned, pretending to zip his lips shut. 

“Where the hell did you two even go?” Oikawa raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his coffee.

“None of your business,” Kuroo retorted, leaning against the counter. Tooru let out a huff, obviously disappointed he wasn’t getting the info he wanted. Nosy fucker.

“Please tell me it wasn’t outside,” Akaashi sighed into his mug.

“No!” Kuroo and Terushima spoke in unison, shooting incredulous looks at the raven-haired man. Akaashi just shrugged a bit, as if to say  _ you never know _ .

“Who all stayed over?” Kuroo asked, attempting to steer the conversation as far away from his sex life as he could. On the bright side, maybe this would be enough to take attention away from the pants incident. On the other hand, it would still result in him getting chirped non-stop.

“Everyone but Bokuto and Aito,” Iwaizumi answered, turning off the stove, “They left like, an hour after you guys. I don’t think Aito was comfortable enough around all of us to stay over, and Bokuto left with him.”

“Oh,” Kuroo nodded, pretending as if that wasn’t the exact info he’d been looking for. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or not that he wasn’t going to have to deal with Bokuto right now. Guilt was still swirling in his stomach, even as he attempted to shove away the feeling.

Just about everyone in the kitchen shot him knowing looks; obviously his attempts at apathy were fooling absolutely no one. Even Terushima raised an eyebrow at him, looking amused at his attempts at nonchalance.

“Oikawa didn’t start a fight with him after we left, did he?” He attempted to draw the attention away from himself, raising an eyebrow as he reached to turn on the kettle, grabbing a mug from the cupboards.

“No. We had to stop him multiple times,” Kenma sighed a bit, resting his elbows on the counter.

“Oh yeah, demonize me for being a good friend!” Oikawa threw his hands up dramatically, “I thought you left ‘cause you didn’t wanna be around them.”

“Well, you now know full well I didn’t. So don’t try and start any more shit with him,” Kuroo sighed, running a hand through his hair. The conversation ended when Nishinoya and Tanaka stumbled into the kitchen, obviously drawn by the smell of food.

“Breakfast ready yet?” Nishinoya yawned, rubbing his eyes.

“Almost. Anyone thrown up yet?” Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow.

“Hinata and Lev are in the bathroom, but everyone else seems good,” Tanaka answered, stretching his arms above his head.

“No surprise there, they’re lightweights,” Oikawa tutted, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

“You’re just as bad as they are,” Kuroo retorted, grinning a bit at the glare Oikawa shot him. He just shrugged, “Don’t be mad at me, I’m just telling the truth,” He snickered, pouring some hot water into his mug before stirring in some instant coffee.

“He’s right,” Iwaizumi commented, “Are the paper plates still out on the table?” He looked to his boyfriend for an answer.

“Yeah, the forks and stuff are too,” Oikawa stood up from his seat, moving to help Iwaizumi transfer all the food out of the frying pans and into some dishes.

“Thank god. I didn’t wanna have to do all those fucking dishes,” He chuckled a little, pressing a kiss to Oikawa’s cheek as a thank you and pointedly ignoring the fake gags from Tanaka and Nishinoya.

~

Everyone filed out of Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s apartment in groups after breakfast was done, grumbling their thank you’s and goodbyes. Suga had to be carried out by Daichi after nearly passing out on his empty plate. Kuroo, Akaashi, and Kenma were the last to leave, making their way out after helping Iwaizumi with the dishes.

The true interrogation started the second they climbed into Kuroo’s car.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Kenma sighed as he climbed into the passenger seat, the sound of the engine starting almost drowning out his words.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kuroo shook his head a little, keeping his eyes trained on the road as he pulled out of the apartment’s parking lot.

“Don’t play stupid,” Kenma glared at him from the corner of his eye.

“Terushima was the one who offered. It was a hookup, no feelings, no nothing. It didn’t mean anything,” He retorted, glancing at Kenma for a moment, “Seriously, I’m fine. It wasn’t just because of Bokuto, I really wanted to. I wasn’t using it as an excuse to leave, I swear.”

“I don’t see a problem with it,” Akaashi commented from the backseat, reaching forward to put a hand on Kenma’s shoulder, “If they both didn’t see it as anything more than a hookup, that is.”

“Neither of us expected anything out of it. I promise,” Kuroo assured, “I’m not gonna go and try and get myself into a relationship or some shit right now. It was a distraction.”

“That’s the point, Kuroo,” Kenma shook his head a little, “I understand you’re hurt by this, but you can’t just ignore Bokuto and distract yourself.”

“I most definitely can,” He retorted, huffing when Kenma hit him in the shoulder, “I understand you’re worried, and I appreciate the concern from both of you. But I know how to deal with my feelings. Wallowing around in them won’t help me,” He clenched his jaw, letting out a sigh, “Maybe doing things with someone else was exactly what I needed.”

“I’m not going to meddle. But just know I don’t think this is the smart way to handle things,” Kenma slouched in his seat, “And if you ever worry me like that again, I’ll murder you.”

“I texted you!” Kuroo huffed a bit, a small smile pulling at his lips, “I promise, I will do my best not to do anything to make it worse. But you gotta let me deal with this, I’m not gonna put you or Akaashi in the middle.”

“We already are, that’s unavoidable,” Akaashi commented.

“Fine. I won’t put you in the middle anymore than you already are,” Kuroo glanced at him in the rearview mirror, “Better?”

“Marginally,” He chuckled a little, ignoring Kuroo’s eyeroll. He dropped Akaashi off close to his dorm, shooting him a grin and a wave goodbye before going to park near his and Kenma’s dorm building.

“Y’know, you’re a real hypocrite,” Kenma commented as they stepped into the dorm. Kuroo raised an eyebrow as he slipped off his shoes, but his roommate continued before he could question it, “You teased  _ me _ for leaving hickeys, but Jesus christ. Yuuji looks like he was mauled-”

“Oh shut up!” Kuroo groaned, rubbing a hand over his face as he walked towards his room.

“How many bite marks can one person leave? Are you a fucking vampire or something?” Kenma called after him, obviously fighting back laughter as Kuroo slammed the door to his bedroom.

“Shut. Up!” Kuroo called back, using his hand to stifle his laughter. He grabbed a towel and stepped into the bathroom (thankfully without any more harassment from his best friend). He felt gross, and obviously hadn’t bothered to shower in Terushima’s friends apartment the night before.

After brushing his teeth until he was sure his vomit-breath was completely eradicated, he started the shower, stepping beneath the hot stream of water with a relieved sigh. He called out a goodbye when Kenma knocked on the door to announce he was leaving for his class, spending a good twenty minutes just letting the hot water soothe his aching body. He checked his phone again when he came out, finally going through all of his messages. Most of them were from Oikawa, though at some point they stopped being actual words and looked a lot more like drunken keysmashes. He’d gotten a couple from Daichi too, but aside from that there wasn’t much.

Kuroo checked his and Bokuto’s texts multiple times, as if a message from the night before asking where he was would suddenly appear out of thin air. He didn’t know if he was thankful or hurt that Bokuto had seemingly not even noticed his absence.

_ Probably too focused on Aito. _

It seemed all the thoughts he’d managed to repress the night before were coming back to beat the shit out of him. Guilt was still swirling in his stomach, and that stupid pain in his chest was more intense than ever. He sat down on his bed in just his towel, running a hand over his face.

Why the hell was he feeling guilty? This morning he’d tried to chalk it up to leftover nausea he had mistaken for emotion, but now with the nausea completely gone and his mind somewhat clear, there was no doubt about what that twisting feeling in his gut was. For some fucking reason, some part of his brain was still holding onto the idea of he and Bokuto, apparently unwilling to accept that it wasn’t going to happen. That same part of him was now making him feel guilty, as if he’d somehow betrayed Bokuto by sleeping with someone else.

He didn’t regret it; he stood by what he’d told Kenma earlier. A distraction was exactly what he’d needed, and Terushima had been a damn good one at that. But it obviously hadn’t been enough, or he wouldn’t be sitting on his bed attempting to argue with himself about why he shouldn’t be feeling guilty.

With a huff, Kuroo stood up, changing into a pair of trackpants and a hoodie as he dug his vape out from his nightstand. How the hell he was gonna face Bokuto at practice later, he had no clue. There was no way in hell his practice clothes would hide the marks, not that he thought Bokuto would give a shit. But the fact that Bokuto was inevitably going to find out about his hookup definitely didn’t help his guilt. He took a pull from the device, huffing as he laid back against his bed. For some fucking reason, he’d thought getting over his feelings would be easier once he knew that Bokuto was taken. He was off limits, there was no way Kuroo could do anything about his feelings now, and he didn’t want to. Bokuto was happy, and he may be a selfish bastard, but he wasn’t going to get in between someone else’s relationship - not knowingly, at least. 

He understood why he couldn’t let go of his feelings before; there was no real reason that he couldn’t see he and Bokuto standing a chance. Sure, he’d thought he was straight, but he didn’t know for sure. And he’d been way too much of a coward to try finding out. So he’d been stuck sitting and dwelling on his feelings, stuck in some weird limbo where he didn’t know if he had a chance or not. Now he knew for sure he didn’t have a chance, he’d known it for almost four days now. It’d taken him less than that to develop his stupid feelings, so why the hell wouldn’t they go away just as quick?

Maybe it would’ve been easier if Bokuto had turned out to be straight. Maybe it wouldn’t have hurt as much, if it wasn’t Kuroo as a person; just the fact that he was a guy. But no, it wasn’t his gender, it was just the fact that Bokuto wasn’t attracted to Kuroo. He couldn’t help but continue to dwell on that realization; it was always sitting in the back of his mind, crouched and waiting for his thoughts to drift towards his pathetic crush so it could spring itself on him.

Kuroo huffed a little, sitting up and tossing his phone aside. Sitting and thinking about it wasn’t going to do him any good, it wasn’t going to make him get his shit together any faster. All it was going to do was put him in a bad mood and make him feel worse. He sat himself down at his desk, opening up his notebook to that stupid test review he hadn’t finished yet. The damn test was tomorrow morning; if he was going to just sit around, he may as well do something with his free time. He couldn’t afford to fail his last major test before exams just because he was wrestling with his own emotions.

After about half an hour of struggling to focus, once Kuroo had finally managed to finish a page of the damn review without zoning out and falling back into his depressing thought process, he vaguely registered the sound of his phone buzzing. He ignored it as best he could, desperately clinging to the small amount of focus he’d managed to cultivate; it was probably that stupid groupchat, or Oikawa calling to grill him even more about what had happened with Terushima. He really wasn’t in the mood to deal with either of those things right now, so he plugged his headphones into his laptop, drowning out the sound with music. 

~

Kuroo managed to keep his thoughts off Bokuto throughout his classes, forcing himself to focus on the droning voices of his professors. He’d danced around the topic of Terushima when he went back to the dorm to grab his stuff for practice, once again assuring Kenma that he was fine and that he had nothing to worry about.

“Are you going to be alright at practice?” Kenma asked, pausing his game as Kuroo stepped out of his room with his gym bag over his shoulder.

“Kenma, I really appreciate the concern, but I’m fine,” Kuroo sighed a bit, ruffling his best friend’s hair as he walked to the door, “You said it yourself; I can’t avoid Bokuto. I’m gonna have to learn to be around him until I’ve gotten over my feelings.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid,” Kenma shook his head, making a face as he fixed his hair.

“Doing stupid shit is my specialty,” He grinned, pulling on his shoes.

“Believe me, I know.” The pudding-head spoke in a deadpan tone, unpausing his game, “I’ll order takeout for dinner.”

“You’re the best, get unagi!” He called over his shoulder, grinning as he shut the door behind him. 

Kuroo was one of the last people to get into the changeroom, shooting a half-grin at Oikawa as he stepped inside. Initially he’d planned to somewhat avoid Bokuto and take one of the empty lockers as far away from him as possible; he couldn’t completely avoid him, but he could get some distance until he’d figured out his feelings.

His plan was thwarted immediately when he felt a hand close around his arm, pulling him towards one side of the changeroom.

“Kuroo! I tried calling you earlier, why didn’t you pick up?” Bokuto pouted, crossing his arms once he’d let go of Kuroo.

“Shit, sorry. I have a test tomorrow, I basically spent all day studying,” He chuckled a little, reluctantly taking the locker beside the owl-haired man. It would be a whole lot more suspicious if he walked all the way over to Oikawa to take the other empty locker. He wasn’t technically lying; he hadn’t even checked his phone to see whose calls he’d been ignoring, so it wasn’t like he was intentionally avoiding Bokuto. He’d been more focused on avoiding  _ everyone. _

“Oh shit, really?” Bokuto immediately uncrossed his arms, a grin replacing his pout, “Good thing I didn’t drop by your dorm,” He laughed a little sheepishly, as if feeling guilty for accusing Kuroo of not answering him on purpose. Kuroo immediately busied himself with his gym bag as Bokuto tugged off his shirt, pulling out his practice clothes.  _ He has a boyfriend, he has a boyfriend _ . He repeated, refusing to let his eyes focus anywhere other than Bokuto’s face.

“Yeah, sorry. I didn’t even look at my phone, I would’ve answered if I knew you were trying to get a hold of me,” Kuroo smiled, lying through his teeth. The guilt he’d managed to ignore all day was creeping up on him again, and he wondered if he’d be able to get Bokuto out of the changeroom without taking off his shirt.

_ He’s not going to give a shit. He doesn’t like you that way, don’t be egotistical. _

“It’s alright! Hey, do you wanna study after practice? I’ve got a test tomorrow too, I haven’t really been able to focus though,” Bokuto laughed a bit, “Aito offered to help me study, you can come to the library with us!”

Yeah, no. That was the last thing Kuroo wanted to do, be stuck alone with Bokuto and his boyfriend, “Sorry, Kenma’s ordering takeout. He’ll be pretty pissed if I don’t show for dinner,” Kuroo smiled apologetically, pulling off his shirt. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bokuto turn towards him, pausing as he caught sight of Kuroo’s marked skin.

“Holy shit, did you get mauled?” Nishinoya called from the other side of the changeroom, his quip accompanied by a wolf whistle from one of the spikers Kuroo didn’t know too well.

“Fuck off,” Kuroo grinned a bit, shaking his head.

“Dude, your back is covered in scratches,” Oikawa commented, raising an eyebrow. Kuroo looked over his shoulder, attempting to get a semi-decent look at his back. He just barely caught sight of a few red scratches on his shoulder; he could only assume the marks went all the way down his back.

“Didn’t even notice ‘em,” He shrugged, trying to brush it off. Bokuto was oddly silent, eyes focused on his gym bag.

“Is that where you and Terushima went off to last night?” Nishinoya grinned, slapping Kuroo on the back, “He needs to cut his fucking nails. Get some, Rooster-head!”

“Oh screw off, go back to bugging Tooru or something,” Kuroo laughed a bit, trying to shrug off his uncomfortableness as he shoved Nishinoya in the shoulder. He wouldn’t have any issue with the conversation, if Bokuto wasn’t around; hell, if it was any other situation he’d probably be making some comments of his own. But he wanted to say as little as possible, the guilt beginning to crawl up his throat like the bile from that morning. 

“Don’t sic him on me!” Oikawa whined, pulling on his knee pads. Daichi and Iwaizumi were silently watching the conversation with equally concerned looks on their faces, which Kuroo ignored. He didn’t know why everyone seemed so worried about what had happened between him and Terushima, but he was already starting to get tired of it. People hooked up all the time, he didn’t see what the big deal was. He pulled on his practice shirt, hiding most of the marks from view. Unfortunately, his gym shorts put some of the marks on his lower thighs on full display.

He sort of wished he’d bought those stupid thigh-high kneepads everyone was always bugging Bokuto about.

“You and Terushima, huh?” Bokuto finally spoke again when most of their team had made their way out of the changeroom, leaving only them and a couple of the guys Kuroo didn’t know all too well. His tone was odd, void of the usual excitement. Kuroo refused to dwell on it.

“It was nothing. Just a drunken hookup,” He chuckled, unsure of why he felt the need to justify himself.

Bokuto just let out a hum in response, pulling on his kneepads as Kuroo sat down to tie his shoelaces. The silence between them was almost awkward, something that hadn’t happened throughout the entirety of their short friendship.

“That's good, though. Guess we’re both not as bad at romance as Akaashi and Kenma claim we are,” Bokuto shot him a grin, leaning against the lockers as he waited for Kuroo to tie his shoes. Kuroo let out a laugh, shaking his head as he stood up.

“It's nothing romantic, shithead. I’m still just as bad as Kenma says,” He grinned, elbowing Bokuto in the side as he walked towards the door, “Hookups are easy, relationships are  _ not _ . At least you can say you’ve got Aito. All I got is these fuckin’ hickeys.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Bokuto seemed to perk up at the mention of his boyfriend’s name, his grin spreading a little wider across his face. Kuroo had to fight back the urge to gag, letting out a silent sigh as they stepped into the gym.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as of right now I'm gonna say I’m not 100% sure how long exactly this story’ll be. It might be 15 chapters like i said, but i can say for sure it won’t be more than 20. I will try not to drag it out too long to the point where its annoying. i already know how its going to end, the only thing is how long it takes to get there;;
> 
> as always, comments/kudos are appreciated, and i love all of u who are supporting this story!!
> 
> *come yell at me on tumblr!!! @kuidore*


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coffee Shop Demons, Panicking, and Bokuto's emo mode

Kuroo came back from practice to an empty dorm, raising an eyebrow as he flicked on the lights. For a second he thought maybe Kenma’d just passed out early; it was unlikely, but not entirely out of the realm of possibility. It was only a matter of time before the lack of sleep caught up to the little gremlin. A moment later he entered the kitchen, quickly finding a post-it note stuck to the top of a plastic takeout container that told him otherwise.

_ Went to Keiji’s. Study for your test, don’t start moping. _

He let out a soft laugh, peeling off the note and tossing it in the garbage before receding into his bedroom. Kenma didn’t need to tell him twice; he’d do anything to get the image of Bokuto and Aito laughing together on the sidelines during water breaks out of his mind. With a sigh and a loud thud, he dropped his gym bag on his bedroom floor, throwing his phone on his bed and sitting down at his desk.

Kuroo attempted to collect his thoughts, shoving any that didn’t have to do with organic chemistry to the back corner of his mind. He couldn’t afford to fail this test, no matter how much he wanted to faceplant into his bed and internally scream about having to watch Bokuto and his boyfriend flirt every chance they’d gotten. If Kuroo didn’t know any better, he might’ve said Koutarou was using Aito as an excuse to avoid him during breaks; there’d been an odd tension between them for the first half of practice, and Kuroo had caught Bokuto looking at him with furrowed eyebrows from the other side of the net more than a few times. He chalked the odd behavior up to Bokuto just being surprised about the Terushima thing. Everyone else was, why the hell wouldn’t he be too? Kuroo was more surprised that he had managed to dodge most of the interrogation from his teammates.

_ Focus, idiot. _

Kuroo let out a huff, resting his elbows on his desk as he flipped open his textbook. His eyes scanned over the paragraphs on the page like they were in a different language, the kanji jumbling together in his mind. It took Kuroo a full minute to realize he wasn’t even on the right chapter.

He felt the urge to whack his head off the desk until he either knocked himself out or got his damn focus back. Kuroo resisted it, pressing his fingers into his temples as he forced himself to actually read the words on the page, going slowly so he didn’t zone out. It took a while, but eventually he managed to get hold of his focus, scribbling down the practice problems in his notebook until his wrist began to hurt. He actually felt pretty prepared for the test; he knew he didn’t even have to study half the subjects he was going over. But carving the formulas and theories into his brain until he could recite them in his sleep felt like a much better option than wallowing in his thoughts.

~

Kuroo was one of the first people to finish his test the next morning. He felt pretty damn good about it, even if he really hadn’t needed half the subjects he’d revised. It wasn’t like he’d been cramming ‘cause he’d needed it anyways. Apparently his textbooks served as a damn good distraction too. Maybe that’d encourage him to study more.

Despite the fact that he’d peeled himself away from his notes at a fairly decent time the night before, Kuroo hadn’t gotten much sleep. He’d spent what felt like hours tossing and turning, trying to force his brain to think of  _ anything _ but the way Bokuto had looked to the sidelines with that stupidly happy grin every time he’d gotten in a good spike at practice. It hadn’t done much good; it wasn’t until Kuroo put on his headphones and blasted music so loud he could barely think at all that his mind had finally stopped racing, just long enough that he could pass out. He definitely needed some damn caffeine.

Kuroo walked towards the coffee shop, stifling a yawn as he walked through the door. He immediately got the urge to turn on his heel and walk right back out, but Suga caught sight of him before he could.

“Hey, Kuroo! How’d your test go?” He grinned widely, giving him a wave before realization seemed to don on him. Kuroo just shot him a half-grin in return, raising a hand in greeting as the two people standing at the counter turned to look at him.

“Hey, bro!” Bokuto grinned widely, raising a hand to wave and nearly dumping his drink right on Aito’s head. Kuroo was almost a little disappointed that Aito caught his arm before he could. That definitely would’ve brightened his mood a bit.

“Hey,” He grinned a bit, just barely nodding in Aito’s direction in a sign of acknowledgement. Hey, he was tired and had just finished a test. He could always chalk it up to just being grumpy, “Test was a breeze. Definitely aced it,”

“Oh yeah, just rub your intellect in our faces,” Oikawa commented, resting his elbows on the counter.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to double down when I get my grade back,” Kuroo grinned, ignoring Suga’s eye roll, “Large iced caramel latte, two extra shots of espresso, please. Oh, and a plain bagel, just butter.” 

“Oh, you’re switching it up today,” Suga said sarcastically as he typed in the order.

“Yeah, you’re getting an  _ iced _ abomination instead of a normal one,” Oikawa jumped in, face scrunching in mock disgust as he started the espresso machine.

“My drinks aren’t that bad!”

“They are,” Oikawa retorted. Suga just nodded in agreement, ignoring Kuroo’s annoyed huff.

“Bro, they’re disgusting,” Bokuto jumped in, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a half smile. He seemed a lot less cheery than usual; Kuroo just chalked it up to the studying he’d apparently done the night before.

“You shut up!” He reached a hand out to shove Bokuto’s shoulder, grinning a bit, “You sent me a video of you blending up pancakes and maple syrup into a smoothie like, last week!”

“I wanted to see if it would work!” Bokuto retorted, his cheeks turning a light pink as his grin widened a little.

“Did it?” Suga raised an eyebrow, looking as if he thought Bokuto’s disgusting drink idea didn’t sound too bad.

“No, it was the worst thing I’ve ever drank,” His face scrunched up a little, as if he was reliving the taste of his own horrible creation. Kuroo had to fight off a laugh; Bokuto’s little nose scrunch was cute.

_ His boyfriend is right there. _

He pointedly ignored that thought, grabbing his drink off the counter when Oikawa set it down, “There’s no way in hell it was worse than the cement mixer,” Kuroo pointed out, taking a sip of his drink.

“I don’t think anything could possibly be worse than that,” Suga commented, pulling a stool from under the counter to sit down.

“I still don’t know how you didn’t throw up,” Oikawa shook his head a little, basically throwing Kuroo’s bagel at him. He managed to catch it with one hand, shooting a glare at the brunet.

“Neither do I,” He faked a gag, taking a bite of his bagel. A bite which he nearly choked on at Oikawa’s next words.

“I’m sure Terushima more than made up for that, though,” He teased, tone much too innocent. Kuroo buried his face in the crook of his elbow, trying not to spew chunks of bagel on the two baristas. Even if they fully deserved it.

“He’s got a point,” Suga grinned a bit.  _ Demons. Fucking demons. _

“Shut the fuck up, I hate both of you,” Kuroo managed to choke out once he was sure he wasn’t going to face death-by-bagel in the middle of the cafe. It was nice to know they’d apparently moved past the pity enough to tease him about it, and in front of Bokuto no less. He didn’t know whether he was relieved, or ready to crawl into a hole and die.  _ The latter, most definitely the latter.  _ Aito let out a laugh at the spectacle, while Bokuto just stayed silent, a small grin on his face.

“You basically asked for it the second you two walked back into the apartment covered in hickeys,” Suga pointed out, resting chin in his palm with an amused smile.

“And when you took your shirt off in the changeroom and showed literally everyone your back,”

“What’s on your back?” Suga raised an eyebrow, grinning a bit at the opportunity to find  _ more _ info to tease him about.

“Alright, yeah, that was a bad choice on my part,” Kuroo grumbled, pointedly ignoring Suga’s question and shaking his head as he took a bite of his bagel, “Can we stop talking about this now?”

Kuroo heard Bokuto mutter something that sounded a lot like ‘yeah, seriously’. He didn’t think about it too much; it meant nothing, just that he probably didn’t want his boyfriend getting freaked out by the weird conversations that regularly went down between their friend group.

“I want an answer to my question, at least,” Suga snickered a bit, faking a pout. Kuroo attempted to ignore the question again, but Oikawa jumped in to answer for him.

“Scratch marks. A lot of scratch marks,”

“Alright, that’s it, I’m out,” He shook his head, fighting off a laugh as he turned his back on the counter.

“Aw c’mon! Don’t be a buzzkill!” Oikawa laughed.

“Can’t hear you, I’m already out the door!” He called, tossing his bagel wrapper in the trash and flipping Oikawa off over his shoulder for good measure. He heard the two barista’s cackling as the door shut behind him.

~

“Bo’s ignoring me,” Kuroo huffed out as he stepped back into his dorm after his last class, shutting the door a little harder than necessary. Kenma glanced away from his phone, raising an eyebrow as he looked to the door.

“What are you talking about?” He sighed, setting the device screen down on the coffee table as Kuroo basically flopped down on the couch beside him, staring at his own phone as if it had personally offended him.

“Bo’s been ignoring me since Thursday,” Okay, ignoring wasn’t exactly the right word.  _ Avoiding _ was probably a better way to describe it.

Things had seemed totally fine; practices were basically the same as normal, except for Bokuto running off to Aito every water break instead of staying with the team, but that wasn’t anything weird. Bo wanted to spend some extra time with his boyfriend; it made Kuroo grit his teeth and want to slam a volleyball into the ground, but it wasn’t  _ odd _ . But outside of practice, it was as if he and Bokuto were little more than acquaintances. Every time he tried to text or snapchat him, he’d either not get a response at all, or Bo’d wait hours to send nothing back but a dry response. Kuroo had no clue what was going on, but it had only been three days and it was starting to get to him. Did he do something wrong?

“Kuroo, it’s only Saturday,” Kenma pointed out, pulling his legs up beside him on the couch, “Why do you think he’s been ignoring you?”

“Okay, he hasn’t been  _ ignoring _ me, but he’s avoiding me,” He huffed a little, tossing his phone on the coffee table. He could practically feel Kenma’s eyeroll.

“Maybe he’s just been busy,” Kenma pointed out, “I think you’re being dramatic about this, Kuroo.”

“I’m not! I know I’m not. I just don’t know what I did wrong,” He sighed, tipping his head back, “He’s sort of the same at practice, but it’s like he doesn’t want to talk to me outside of volleyball or something.”

“If he’s the same at practice, then what makes you think he’s avoiding you?” Kenma deadpanned, seemingly unconvinced.

“I said he’s  _ sort of _ the same, not the same. It doesn’t matter, I just  _ know _ , alright?” Kuroo didn’t know how to explain it, but he could feel that something was different between them. He’d continued to catch Bokuto staring at him oddly throughout practice, only to look away as soon as he was noticed. He went out of his way to choose a locker far from Kuroo’s, and would be the first person out of the changerooms after they were finished. If Kuroo managed to catch him off guard and actually talk to him, Bokuto would engage in conversation for maybe a couple minutes with a half-assed grin on his face before finding an excuse to dip out again. Kuroo had no clue what he’d done. If he could figure out what the hell it was, maybe he could fix it, but he was totally blanking on what could’ve caused Bo’s sudden change.

“You said the same thing about Bokuto being straight,” His roommate pointed out.

“I know, alright? But I’m sure of it this time. Something is different, and I don’t know-” He stopped himself, thinking for a moment, “You don’t think he knows about my feelings, do you?”

“I highly doubt it,”

“What else could it be? He’s being awkward, he isn’t texting me, he’s barely even  _ talking _ to me..” Kuroo stood up from his place on the couch, pacing back and forth in front of the television in an attempt to rid his body of some of the nervous energy.

“If you’re that worried, ask him.” Kenma spoke calmly, attempting to be the voice of reason.

“And how do I do that? Oh, hey dude, did you happen to find out about the fact that I have a huge fucking crush on you even though we’ve known each other for two weeks?” Kuroo threw his hands in the air, continuing to pace.

“Obviously not, idiot. Just go up to him after the game and ask if somethings up, and if everything’s alright with you guys.” Kenma huffed, clearly starting to lose his patience, “Your other option is to continue to panic about nothing.”

“It’s not nothing..” He muttered, crossing his arms as he stopped pacing.

“It almost certainly is. If it’s not, you can at least figure out what it is.”

“Ugh, fine!” Kuroo sighed, flopping back on the couch before almost immediately jumping up, “Shit, the game! I gotta go _ now _ ,” He hastily grabbed his gym bag from his room, hopping to the door as he tried to pull on his shoes. Kenma watched him struggle from the couch, eyebrows quirked in amusement.

“I’m gonna wait for Keiji’s class to be done, but we’ll be there before you start.”

“Alright, thanks!” Kuroo shot him a half-smile before basically running out the door. He wasn’t late yet, but if he didn’t run to the gym, he definitely would be. He’d been doing pretty damn good at getting to practices on time, he didn’t want to fuck that up right before the coach decided whether or not he’d be staying on the team.

Kuroo was the last one to arrive, but thankfully the majority of the team was still changing when he showed up. He tried to catch his breath in an attempt to hide the fact that he’d sprinted across campus in less than five minutes, taking the last empty locker between Oikawa and Bokuto.

“Hey! Thought you weren’t gonna show up,” Oikawa joked, pulling on his shorts as Kuroo pulled out his practice clothes.

“You really think I’d miss the first practice match?” He scoffed, “I just got out of class, I had to grab my shit from the dorm,” He purposely left out the part where he’d spent five minutes outwardly panicking about Bokuto avoiding him, and not just because the man in question was right next to him.

“Good thing you’re here, Coach probably wouldn’t be too happy if you missed warmup,” Bokuto joked, a slight laugh escaping him. Kuroo was shocked he’d even spoken at all, but he wasn’t gonna question it.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” He laughed, pulling on his practice shirt, “I basically sprinted all the way here.”

Bokuto just nodded in response, shooting him a grin before he walked out of the changeroom. Kuroo watched him leave in silence, letting out a soft sigh as he pulled on his kneepads.

“What the hell happened?” Oikawa whisper-yelled, elbowing Kuroo in the side, “He’s been really quiet lately, especially around you. That’s not like him at  _ all _ .”

“I don’t know,” He puffed out his cheeks, locking up his bag and leaning down to tie up his shoes, “He hasn’t really been talking to me outside of practice since Thursday. I think I did something, I just don’t know what.”

“Well, figure it out after the game. We don’t need you distracted,” Oikawa clapped him on the back, a hint of sympathy in his voice as he walked out into the gym. Kuroo shook his head a little, a small smile on his face as he followed the rest of the team out of the changeroom.

“Grab a partner, start on passing drills to get your muscles moving,” Sato called from the sidelines, pushing the ball cart towards them, “We’ll do laps once everyone’s out of the changeroom, Hitotsubashi will be here soon.” 

The instructions were met with calls of acknowledgement from the team. Kuroo made his way towards the cart, grabbing a ball as his eyes flicked around the gym. There were a hell of a lot more people than what he’d been used to in high school, the entire upper level was packed with students there to watch. Kuroo definitely didn’t mind the crowd, but he had to resist the urge to scowl when he saw Aito leaning against the railing, grinning widely as he waved to Bokuto.

“Oi, Bo!” Kuroo called, refusing to admit he felt a little bit of pride when the spiker’s attention immediately left his boyfriend, head whipping around to look at him, “Pass with me?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah, sure,” Bokuto nodded after a split-second hesitation, shooting one last grin up at Aito before he jogged over. Kuroo stood a pretty decent distance away, refusing to admit he was a little hurt by the hesitation. He was just thankful Bokuto was too nice a person to outright say no; that would’ve been pretty damn humiliating.

They passed back and forth for a while in an awkward silence, before the captain called for them to start doing laps. Kuroo refused to bring anything up before the game, despite how much he longed to walk right up to Bokuto and ask him what the fuck was going on. He wasn’t going to start shit before a game, and he definitely wasn’t planning to do it in front of anyone else. If he was going to get rejected, he’d prefer if it was in private.

Hitotsubashi showed up about halfway through their warmup, and Sato called them to the sidelines to give the other team a chance to spike.

“Alright, we’re gonna try out the 6-2 formation we’ve been working on in practice,” He began once the team had pulled on their practice jerseys and settled themselves on the bench, gesturing to his little whiteboard, “We won the coin toss, so we’re going to have first serve. First set, the back line is going to be Kageyama serving, Hinata in the middle, Daichi on the left. Nishinoya, you’ll be subbing Hinata out across the back after Kageyama’s finished serving.” He explained, continuing once the mentioned players nodded in affirmation, “Front line will be Oikawa on the right, Kuroo in middle, and Bokuto on the left. We’ll see how this formation works, if needed, we’ll change it up in the second set.”

The referee’s whistle followed Sato’s words, and the players gathered in a circle for their cheer before breaking off. Kuroo couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he stepped onto the court; even if it was only a practice match, it was his first game on an actual team since his first year, and he had no intention of doing anything but his absolute best. He glanced at the stands for a moment as the referee threw the ball to Kageyama, grinning as he saw Kenma and Akaashi leaning on the railing. He shot them a barely-noticeable wave, bringing his attention right back to the court when the whistle sounded again, signalling the start of the game.

Their first point came almost immediately; the other team barely had a chance to shuffle their feet before Kageyama’s serve had flown over the net like a damn cannon, hitting the back of the court with a satisfying thud. Kuroo didn’t know how much more insane those damn first years could get, but he was just thankful he wasn’t on the other side of the court. He’d had more than enough of Kageyama’s serves in practice. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Oikawa tapping on the inside of his elbow. 

Unfortunately, their momentum didn’t last. Hitotsubashi was prepared for the power, and the ball got passed in a near perfect arc to their setter. Kuroo barely managed to get himself beside Oikawa and jump before the spiker was slamming the ball down. He felt the sting as it flew back off his fingers.

“One touch!” He yelled over his shoulder, watching as Hinata dove forward just in time to save the ball. The second his feet touched the ground he backed up; the receiver was too sloppy to try anything but a simple attack, and he already knew he wouldn’t be able to approach fast enough to beat the blockers. His best bet was to watch for a block.

Oikawa seemed to realize that too, sending the ball across the court to Bokuto. Kuroo watched with a grin as the spiker jumped, bringing his arm forward at full power-

_ Thud _

Kuroo watched as the ball’s course was impeded by Hitotsubashi’s middle, his fingers missing the ball by only a few centimetres as it flew straight down on their side of the net.

That was only the beginning.

They were playing far from bad; they managed to hold onto their single point lead, but Bokuto kept getting blocked. Hitotsubashi’s middle was targeting him, that much was obvious. Each time he went up for a spike, there he was, either touching the ball and diverting its course or managing to block it all together. With each failed attack, Bokuto’s mood plummeted more and more. Sato finally called a timeout when the spiker’s serve went straight into the net.

Bokuto shuffled his way to the side of the court, huffing as he snatched his water bottle off the bench.

“Quit tossing to me. They’re just gonna keep blocking it,” He spoke before Sato got the chance too, clenching his jaw as he stared at the floor. He was obviously pissed at himself; for what, Kuroo couldn’t understand. Everyone was silent for a moment, as if thinking of what to say to get Bokuto out of his funk. Kuroo didn’t know either; he’d never seen him like this after getting blocked. In practices, he’d always responded by getting more pumped up, until his spikes were blowing away the blockers arms like it was nothing. Kuroo could only assume the pressure of a game was making him beat himself up, even if it was only a practice match.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Kuroo finally spoke before anyone else got the chance to, bringing his water bottle away from his lips and crossing his arms.

“Huh?” He looked up in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected anyone to do anything but agree with his statement.

“You heard me,” He retorted, “That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”

“But-”

“Don’t ‘but’ me. You’re more than capable of blasting through that block, I’ve seen you get past way better than that,” Kuroo spoke, tone a little more aggressive than necessary, “Get the hell out of your own head and believe in yourself, moron. You’re a top tier spiker, are you really gonna let one blocker get in your head and fuck you up?”

“I probably would’ve phrased it nicer,” Daichi commented, a slight smile pulling at his lips.

“Me too,” Sato chuckled, “But he’s right. The last thing we need is our ace beating himself up. No one’s going to stop tossing to you, so figure out a way to get past ‘em.”

Bokuto’s mouth dropped open a little. Clearly, the conversation didn’t go how he’d expected, but Kuroo could already see him straightening up a bit.

“Yes coach,” He nodded, a slight grin pulling at his lips. As they walked back onto the court, Kuroo felt a hand close around his arm. He looked back, raising an eyebrow at Bokuto’s smile, “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me, I’m just telling the truth,” He shot him a grin, “Get your shit together, before someone else steals the spotlight.”

The ace just nodded, and Kuroo had to keep back a sigh of relief. He was just praying that Bokuto’s bad mood would keep itself at bay; he’d really been winging the whole tough love thing, and he had no clue what to do if that didn’t work.

Thankfully, it seemed it did. Bokuto still got blocked a couple times, sure, but between Nishinoya and Kuroo the blocked balls rarely hit the court; more often than not his spikes slammed down on the floor, blasting through the blockers’ arms like it was nothing. Kuroo felt a swell of pride each time Bokuto got in a spike, letting out a victory hoot and punching the air when he landed back on the court. They took the first set by the skin of their teeth, gulping down water like their lives depended on it as they switched sides.

“The 6-2 formation worked well. Kageyama, you’re going to sit, Nakamura will be our second setter,” Sato began, gesturing to a fourth year student Kuroo didn’t really know,” Oikawa, you’ll be serving first.” Kuroo had to fight back a laugh as Oikawa puffed out his chest, obviously a little proud to have been chosen over Kageyama.  _ Old habits die hard, I suppose. _ “Hinata, you’ll be sitting to, Lev’ll be going on. Same thing, Nishinoya will be subbing him out on the back lines. Lev, if you try to jump serve, I will sub you out. It’s not accurate enough to be of any use yet, and we don’t need any concussions,” Sato shot a pointed look at the lanky first year. Lev grumbled a little, but reluctantly agreed. With a nod, the coach continued, “Everyone else, same positions.”

Kuroo could only assume the fact that he wasn’t being taken out was a damn good sign.

They took the second set a lot quicker than the first. Oikawa managed to get four points off serves alone, and from there the momentum continued to build. Kuroo’s hands were stinging from the continual impact of the ball from blocking and spiking, each point boosting the team's morale. The continual cheering from the upper level definitely wasn’t hurting. The second the ref’s whistle blew to signal the end of the game, Kuroo felt himself tugged down into a headlock, familiar arms wrapped around his shoulders as Bokuto basically yelled in his ear. He couldn’t help but share the excitement, a wide grin on his face as he basked in their victory. For a moment, things between him and Bokuto seemed back to normal. Maybe Kenma was right; maybe he had just been being dramatic.

_ Or not. _

The moment ended as soon as it had begun. Bokuto pulled his arm away from Kuroo as if he’d been burned by the contact, his victory-fueled grin dimming slightly as if he’d just realized what he’d done. Kuroo didn’t know what the issue was; it wasn’t as if Bokuto hadn’t dragged him into random hugs and headlocks more than enough times over the past two weeks. But the moment was over, and Bokuto stepped back a couple feet before quickly making his way to the back of the court.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as y'all can see, there will be two more chapters of this story. i hope u guys have enjoyed it so far, and im hoping to get at least chapter 15 out by the end of this week, if not finish the story by then.
> 
> as always, comments/kudos are appreciated, and ty all for ur support of this story<3
> 
> *come yell at me on tumblr @kuidore!!!!*


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Answers, Picking Sides, and Support

Kuroo’s initial intention had been to grab Bokuto and pull him aside before he got the chance to follow the rest of the team out of the gym; it would save him the embarrassment of having to confront him in public. He knew the spiker would probably be the first one out or the changerooms to go see his boyfriend, so getting to him before he got the chance to flee sounded like the best option.

_ God, that sounds bad. _

Unfortunately, Kuroo didn’t get the chance to even take a step off the court before Sato called him over. In his worry over Bokuto, Kuroo had almost forgotten that the coach still had to tell him whether or not he was actually allowed on the team.

“Yes, coach?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow, walking towards the benches with his water bottle in hand. He attempted to pretend as if his heart wasn’t currently beating in his throat - both from the stress of the whole Bokuto thing and the knowledge that he could very well be rejected from the team - but Sato didn’t seem to buy his nonchalance.

“Kuroo. As I promised, I made my decision,” He paused for a moment, a small smile pulling at his lips, “You’re on the team.”

“Seriously?” Kuroo breathed out, a wave of relief washing over him as he tried to fight off the urge to shout in victory. Sato chuckled, nodding.

“Of course. You’re an incredible player, even with your couple of years off. You’re a great addition to the team. I’m glad you decided to join,” The coach clapped him on the shoulder.

“Thank you so much,” He grinned, “Sir.” Kuroo tacked on the end, remembering the formalities. Sato just chuckled a bit.

“Go get changed. Remember, no practice tomorrow or Monday,”

Kuroo gave a small bow as a last act of thanks, unable to wipe the grin off his face as he walked towards the changerooms. He was officially on a volleyball team again.

His good mood was quickly squandered when he nearly ran into Bokuto as he tried to enter the changeroom, and he remembered what he’d been planning to do all game.

“Shit, sorry bro!” Bokuto forced a laugh, ducking out of the way to try and get past. Kuroo reached out, grabbing his wrist to stop him.

“Hey, wait,” Kuroo spoke, ignoring the way Bokuto tensed under his touch, “Can we talk?”

He didn’t even look back at him, pausing for a moment, “Sorry, can it wait? I’m in a hurry, I’ve got to meet Aito, and-” Bokuto started to speak, a nervous undertone to his voice.

“No, it can’t.” Kuroo clenched his jaw, anger starting to mix with the ache in his chest. Aito could be the one to fucking wait for once. Bokuto finally turned back to look at him, obviously sensing the change in tone.

“Alright, sure!” He nodded, a fake cheerfulness in his tone. Once Kuroo was sure he wasn’t going to run, he let go of his arm.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” Kuroo muttered just loud enough that Bokuto could hear, turning on his heel and walking towards the back exit of the gym. He was sure Aito would be waiting by the exit to congratulate Bokuto on their win, and he didn’t want the spiker to have any excuse to avoid him again. He glanced over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow when he saw Bokuto still standing by the change room doors. After a minute, he began to follow.

They walked in a tense silence, during which Kuroo attempted to quell the anger in his chest. He didn’t know if it was the adrenaline leftover from the game causing it, or if he was just done with Bokuto avoiding him, but the last thing he wanted was to start a fight. He just wanted answers.

Kuroo finally stopped walking once they’d reached the back hallways, their steps echoing in the emptiness; no one ever used them anymore, since most of the tournaments were held in the main gym. They were dark, illuminated only by the sunlight streaming through the windows, full of empty garbage cans and benches that had been left to do nothing but collect dust. Kuroo stood still for a moment, trying to find the best way to phrase what he wanted to say.

“Are you avoiding me?” Kuroo turned around to face him, crossing his arms. The question came out a little more aggressive than he’d intended. For a few moments, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, as Bokuto stared at the floor.

“What are you talking about, bro?” Bokuto played dumb, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, “Of course I’m not avoiding you!

Kuroo let out a huff, taking a second to get control of his own emotions. He was more hurt than he was angry, but unfortunately his frustration with Bokuto was starting to mount. He forced himself to take a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He didn’t want to sound accusatory, but it seemed he had no other option.

“You’re lying,” He finally spoke, leaning back against the wall, “You’ve been avoiding me since Thursday. I wanna know why.” It was no longer a question.

“I’m not lying,” Bokuto retorted, the volume of his voice rising slightly, “I’m not lying, Kuroo. I haven’t been avoiding you.” His tone levelled back out, but he still refused to meet his eyes.

“You won’t even look at me right now,” Kuroo huffed out a sound that sounded vaguely like a laugh, bitterness seeping into his tone, “I’m not asking if you were, I already know the answer. I want to know  _ why. _ ”

“I told you, I wasn’t!” Bokuto snapped, finally bringing his gaze off the floor and to Kuroo’s face. For a moment he was taken aback, but his surprise was quickly replaced with more frustration. Bokuto momentarily looked guilty for snapping at him, but Kuroo spoke before he got the chance to continue.

“Oh, really?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow, nails digging into his own forearms, “So you haven’t been ignoring my texts, and my snapchats, and my calls for the past three days? You haven’t been avoiding the groupchat to try and make it seem like you weren’t ignoring me?” He stood up straight, clenching his jaw.

“I-”

“No, shut up, I’m not done.” Kuroo cut him off, fixing his gaze on the window. He could feel the frustration building in his gut, a stinging feeling assaulting the back of his eyes. If he didn’t calm down, he was going to start crying. He hated being an angry crier, “You haven’t been purposely avoiding me in the changeroom, or during practice? You haven’t been basically running out of the gym everyday so I didn’t stop you to try and talk to you?” He paused for a moment, before continuing, “You haven’t been asking  _ Akaashi _ if I was coming to the dorm whenever Kenma went to hang out, so you’d have the chance to leave and wouldn’t have to risk seeing me?” He let out another bitter chuckle, hating how watery it sounded, “Akaashi told me about that one earlier today. I thought he was lying. Obviously he wasn’t.”

Bokuto was silent, and Kuroo could see him staring at him with those stupid, intense owl eyes from his periphial vision. As soon as he looked away from the window and made eye contact, Bokuto went back to staring at the floor.

“I wasn’t  _ trying _ to avoid you, Kuroo, I-” He started, but Kuroo just shook his head.

“Bullshit!” His voice cracked a bit, nails biting into his own arms hard enough to almost break the skin. His quiet anger had turned to booming hurt, and frustration, and fury in the blink of an eye. Obviously his attempts at controlling his own emotions had gone to shit, but at this point he didn’t care. Bokuto was lying through his teeth, right to his fucking face, and Kuroo wanted to know  _ why _ .

Bokuto’s eyes widened, looking at him in shock at the outburst. Kuroo refused to be the one to look away.

“Alright, fine!” He finally spoke, his own volume matching Kuroo’s with ease, “What if I was avoiding you?”

“There’s no ‘what if’.” He gritted his teeth, “I want to know  _ why. _ ”

“Aito!” Bokuto was yelling, eyes practically glowing with anger in the dim hallway, “Aito is why!”

Kuroo was taken aback, eyes wide as he processed the words.  _ Aito. _ Of course. Of  _ course _ it was Aito, why the fuck wouldn’t it be?

“Why me then? What the fuck kind of issue does your little boyfriend have with  _ me _ in particular?” He retorted, uncrossing his arms. He had barely spent any time around the guy. Sure, he had a huge ass crush on his boyfriend, but as far as he fucking knew he hadn’t done  _ anything _ in front of Aito to give that away.

“I think you know exactly what kind of issue he’d have with you,” Bokuto muttered under his breath, biting his bottom lip as he stared at the wall behind Kuroo’s head. All he could do was let out a curt laugh, shaking his head a bit. His worst nightmares, every possible worry he’d had since he’d realized his feelings; all of them were becoming reality.

“So he told you? About my feelings?” Kuroo ran a hand through his hair, another bitter laugh escaping his lips before he could stop it. It wasn’t a question.

“What makes you think he had to tell me?” Bokuto spoke through gritted teeth.

“Because if you were going to figure it out on your own, you would’ve done it a week and a half ago when  _ I _ figured it out for myself,” He snapped, feeling a little bit of malicious satisfaction at Bokuto’s look of surprise, “Oh! I guess your precious  _ Aito _ didn’t tell you that, did he?”

Kuroo stood in silence, glaring daggers at Bokuto as he watched, waiting for a response -  _ any _ response. When he didn’t get one, he continued.

“So that’s it? Your little boyfriend gives you an ultimatum, him or me, and you choose him?” He demanded, raising his eyebrows.

“Quit calling him that,” Bokuto spoke softly, still staring at the wall behind Kuroo’s head as he dodged the question.  _ Look at me. Just fucking look at me, you coward! _

“And you didn’t even want to, I dunno, give me a heads up?” He began to pace, desperate to find some outlet for the anger and adrenaline still flowing through his veins, “Don’t I at least deserve that? Just a, ‘hey, I value a four day relationship more than our friendship, so if you can fuck off for a while, that’d be great!’. Maybe a ‘you can show back up if he ever dumps me’? Are you that much of a fucking pussy you couldn’t even tell me to my face that you chose him?!”

“Why do I owe you anything?” Bokuto yelled, words bouncing off the walls, “We’ve known each other for two weeks, that’s not that much longer than I’ve known Aito!”

“It’s still longer,” Kuroo interjected, refusing to show just how much those words stung, but Koutarou continued before he could say anything else.

“And what about you, huh? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me you had feelings for me me? I feel like I at least deserved that!” Bokuto threw his own words back in his face, “Why the fuck did I have to hear it from Aito of all people?!” Kuroo stopped pacing, fixing the spiker with an ice cold glare.

“And how the fuck was I supposed to do that, huh? I thought you were  _ straight _ until Aito showed up!” He was yelling now, too caught up in the argument to care if anyone heard them. Kuroo brought a hand up to his face, angrily wiping away the tears that threatened to spill onto his cheeks.

“You could’ve  _ asked _ me!”   
“Alright, yeah. I could’ve, and I’ll admit that,” Kuroo shook his head, biting on the inside of his cheek, “But what the fuck did I have to gain then, huh? You obviously didn’t feel the same! You knew I liked guys, if you had any feelings for me, you would’ve  _ told _ me! I wasn’t going to risk one of my best friendships because of my stupid fucking emotions, so I’m  _ sorry _ if I didn’t want to fucking lose you!”

Bokuto opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Kuroo took the opportunity to continue.

“But y’know what, eventually I said fuck it. I thought that maybe there was a tiny,  _ miniscule _ chance that you might’ve felt the same way about me and were just scared to tell me, the same way I was  _ terrified _ to tell you. I was tired of hiding it, and I decided that I was going to confess to you. That day at the barbecue place, the day you fucking told me about Aito, I was going to tell you.”

“You were?” Bokuto’s anger seemed to dim for a moment, eyes wide as he breathed out the words. Kuroo just let out a sharp laugh, tears flowing freely down his face.

“Yeah! Because I figured that even if you didn’t feel the same, the rejection would at least give me some fuckin’ closure so I could get over my stupid feelings! Obviously, ignoring them did me no fucking good! I figured you’d be the type of guy who’d  _ never _ just cut someone out of your life because you didn’t return their feelings,” He let out a sigh, looking to the ground as he struggled to fight back the knot in his throat, “Apparently, I was dead fucking wrong.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me then?!” Bokuto snapped, and Kuroo looked back at him in disbelief.

“You’re kidding, right? You have someone else, you’re  _ happy _ . Happy enough to choose him over me, obviously. What fucking good would it have done, telling you then? I lost my chance, I got the rejection I’d been worried about. I may be a selfish bastard, but I’m not that selfish. I wasn’t going to go and stick myself in the middle of your new relationship and fuck up your happiness!” He took a step forward, glaring down at Bokuto, “Why the fuck do you think the Terushima thing happened?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Bokuto breathed out. He didn’t step back, leaving them barely half a foot apart.

“For such a smart guy, you’re real fucking dense sometimes,” Kuroo shook his head, refusing to feel guilt over the hurt that flashed through Bokuto’s eyes, “Watching you and Aito be all lovey dovey at Yamaguchi’s party made me want to bash my head into a fucking wall. Alcohol and weed obviously didn’t help much. Terushima was a distraction, and I took it the first chance I got. Worked pretty damn well too, until I woke up feeling  _ guilty! _ ” He yelled, stepping back and throwing his hands in the air, “I felt like I’d fucking  _ betrayed _ you or something, sleeping with Terushima! Even hooking up with someone else didn’t fucking help my damn feelings!” 

He was rambling at this point and he knew it, but he couldn’t stop. It was as if his anger and hurt had been enough to short-circuit the filter between his brain and his mouth, letting every thought fall freely from his lips to echo in the deserted hallway.

“And then this happens, and I’m stuck sitting in my fucking classes checking my phone every five minutes, waiting for some stupid fucking text to tell me you’d just been busy, and that you hadn’t been avoiding me!” His voice cracked again, betraying the pain behind his rage, but Kuroo continued on, “You have no idea how many hours I spent thinking over what the fuck I  _ possibly _ could’ve done to make you suddenly stop talking to me like you did. Only to find out it’s because you fucking think having me around would be an inconvenience to your damn boyfriend!”

“Kuroo, I…” Bokuto started to speak, but the words didn’t come. His sentence trailed off, and after a few seconds the silence became stifling. Kuroo felt like he was going to suffocate. He didn’t think he had the mental capacity to deal with some half-assed apology right now; it wouldn’t change anything. Bokuto had clearly made his choice, and it wasn’t Kuroo.

“Y’know what, just... Don’t.” His words came out more of a sigh than anything. His anger had vanished as quickly as it had built up, leaving nothing but exhaustion and pain and vulnerability in its place. “I’ve said more than I should’ve. I got the answers I wanted. I’m sure Aito’s still waiting patiently to congratulate you on your win.” Kuroo’s tone was ice-cold, a biting venom seeping into his words. He began to walk back towards the gym, stopping after a couple metres, “I made the team, by the way. Don’t worry, I’ll try not to give your little boyfriend anymore reasons to be jealous during matches.”

With that Kuroo walked off, his lone footsteps echoing in the hallway as he tried to ignore the stabbing pain in his chest. A small voice in his head begged him to turn around, to go back to Bokuto and try to figure things out, but it would be no use. He ignored it, refusing to acknowledge the fact that he was silently praying for Bokuto to follow him, to run after him and assure him that nothing he’d just said was true, that he was wrong. He wiped his eyes, quickly making his way into the changeroom to grab his things. No footsteps followed after him. Kuroo grabbed his bag from his locker, knuckles white as he slung it over his shoulder and gripped at the strap until the material dug into his palms. He didn’t bother to change; he was tired, and he wanted to go home. Kuroo took a second to look in the mirror, splashing his face with cold water in an attempt to get rid of the puffiness around his eyes. It didn’t work that well, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

The entranceway to the gym was practically deserted when Kuroo finally walked out; Akaashi and Kenma were standing by the doors, and they looked up when they heard the gym doors open. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Aito, looking around for Bokuto in obvious confusion.

Kuroo walked up to the couple by the door, simply shaking his head when Kenma opened his mouth. He knew the younger man could see the red around his eyes and the tension in his shoulders, and there was no way in hell he was going to explain anything with Aito in earshot. He didn’t want to risk Bokuto coming back in the middle of the conversation.

“I’ll tell you when we’re back at the dorm,” He muttered as the only source of explanation, walking out of the gym and into the cold air without waiting for a response. The air bit harshly at the exposed skin of his legs and arms, grounding him in reality before he could think back on the argument he’d just had. Kenma and Akaashi caught up to him easily, the three of them making their way across campus and towards the dorms.

“What happened?” Kenma spoke as soon as the door closed behind them. Kuroo just shrugged in response, dropping his bag on the floor with a sigh.

“Let me change and shower first, I feel gro-”

“Sit down,” Akaashi demanded, cutting him off. Kuroo raised his eyebrows in surprise, but reluctantly settled himself on the couch with a huff. Damn them for knowing all too well that if he went into his room right now, he most definitely wouldn’t be coming out to explain, “Now, what the hell happened?”

“He was avoiding me, obviously,” Kuroo sighed, putting his feet up on the coffee table as Kenma and sat down in the chair. Akaashi stayed standing, arms crossed as he looked to Kuroo for a more in-depth answer than the one he’d given, “So I pulled him aside to talk after the game.”

“What did you talk about, Tetsurou?” Kenma sighed, pulling his feet up beside him on the chair. Obviously they were worried, and Kuroo felt a little guilty for giving such short answers, but he really wasn’t in the mood to relive the argument. Apparently though, his silence wasn’t enough to deter them.

“Fine,” Kuroo huffed, leaning his head back against the couch before he began to speak, “I asked him if he was avoiding me, and he lied right to my face. Told me he wasn’t avoiding me at all. I called him out on his bullshit-”

“I don’t like where this is going,” Akaashi muttered to himself, but Kuroo just continued to speak.

“Then he tried to backpedal and say he was, but he wasn’t doing it intentionally. I basically listed off all the clear indicators that he was definitely going out of his way to avoid me, told him that you,” He gestured vaguely in Akaashi’s direction, “told me that he kept asking if I was coming over with Kenma so he could leave.”

“Wait, what?” Kenma interrupted, looking to Akaashi, “Was he really?”

“Yeah.. I didn’t realize it at first, I thought he was just asking so he could hang out with Kuroo. But then last night, I told him I didn’t know if he was coming with you, and he basically nodded, grabbed his coat and said he had plans with Aito or something like that,” Akaashi sighed, looking at Kuroo, “He came back after I texted him and told him that you’d decided to stay home and study instead.

“Yeah. I was hoping you were wrong, but he didn’t deny it when I brought it up,” He huffed out, shaking his head as he closed his eyes.

“Jesus..” Kenma muttered, and Kuroo could just imagine his roommate chewing on the inside of his cheek as he processed the information, “I’m sorry I called you dramatic earlier.”

Kuroo just waved off the apology, letting out a soft laugh, “Don’t start apologizing, moron. I would’ve thought I was being dramatic too.”

“What else happened?” Akaashi asked, and Kuroo opened his eyes.

“Basically I asked him why, he refused to answer me for a bit. But he finally admitted that apparently Aito’s the reason he’s been avoiding me,” He hoped he wouldn’t have to elaborate, but the silence that followed told him he most definitely did, “I asked him what fucking problem Aito had with me. Apparently, Aito figured out that I had feelings for Bokuto and told him. I’m assuming he gave him some sort of ultimatum, him or me. So I accused Bokuto of putting a four day relationship over our friendship,”

“Oh Kuroo,” Kenma sighed out, and Kuroo opened his eyes to see his best friend pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What? He didn’t deny it!”

“It still probably wasn’t a good idea to accuse him of that, even if it might be true,” Akaashi commented in a soft tone.

“I know, alright?” Kuroo grumbled, crossing his arms, “But anyways, I asked him why the hell he was such a pussy about it that he couldn’t have at least given me a heads up-”

“Are you serious?” Kenma groaned.

“Buckle up, it gets worse,” He said, shrugging a bit. He’d said a few things he regretted, sure, but calling Bokuto a coward wasn’t one of them, “He told me he didn’t owe me anything since we’d only known each other two weeks, and asked why the hell I didn’t tell him about my feelings. I said it was ‘cause I thought he was straight, he told me I could’ve just asked him. Then I told him that I’d been planning to confess the day he told me about Aito.”

“What did he say?” Akaashi sat down on the arm of the chair beside Kenma, crossing his arms as he listened to Kuroo’s story.

“He was just surprised. Then I just… started ranting, I guess. I said something about how I was going to tell him since I thought he wouldn’t be the kind of person who would cut me off just because of some dumb crush. He asked why I didn’t tell him anyways, I said I wasn’t that much of a dick that I’d ruin his happiness just to tell him about my feelings and get rejected anyways,” Kuroo rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, trying to fight back the sting that was starting to build behind his eyes again, “Then I brought up the Terushima thing, told him I did it as a distraction. He apparently hadn’t figured that out.” He let out a deadpan laugh, ignoring the concerned looks he got as he continued to speak, “Told him that it didn’t even work, it just made me feel guilty. He didn’t really say anything after that. I think I said something about how I was trying to figure out what the hell I’d done to get him to ignore me, and then… I walked away.”

Akaashi and Kenma were silent for about a minute, and Kuroo mentally prepared himself for the lecture he was sure he was about to get.

“I think you did the right thing,” Akaashi finally spoke up. Kuroo looked at him in surprise, eyes wide as Kenma nodded in apparent agreement, “It definitely didn’t go well, but Bokuto deserves to know the consequences of his actions.”

“Yeah.. You were both emotional, you probably said some things you shouldn’t have in the middle of everything, but… Bokuto’s reasoning here is completely ridiculous.” Kenma added on in a soft voice.

“Guys, I appreciate it, but don’t start taking sides. Please, I don’t want this to get any worse than it already is,” He mumbled, biting his bottom lip to try to keep back his tears.

“It’s too late for that. Bokuto made his choice, and unfortunately, his decision has an effect on everyone.” Akaashi sighed, “But he’s in the wrong here. He should’ve tried to talk things out with you or Aito, find some way to resolve it that didn’t involve trying to cut you out. I don’t doubt that Aito was the one to make him choose, and it was probably hard on him… But he didn’t handle it well.”

“Neither did I,” Kuroo pointed out, “ _ I  _ was the one who pulled him aside and I was the one who started getting angry. The argument was my fault, if I had’ve left it alone-”

“If you had’ve left it alone, things would have just gotten worse and it would’ve caused more problems.” Kenma cut him off, “Unless Bokuto was planning to cut out every single person in his life who was friends with you, this was inevitable. First it was hanging out with you alone; who’s to say Aito wouldn’t start getting jealous whenever we all hung out together and you were there? Or during your guys’ practices and games, when you guys have no choice but to interact?”

“I guess so..” Kuroo mumbled. He still didn’t feel good about starting the argument, even with Kenma and Akaashi’s assurances that the argument couldn’t have been avoided..

“This isn’t your fault, Kuroo. It’s Bokuto’s, but more than anything, it’s  _ Aito’s _ . Like you said, when he made Bokuto choose, they’d been together for four days. He had no right to do anything like that,” Akaashi assured.

“But still, this is just going to make everything worse. I doubt Bo’ll even want to be in the same room as me after that.”

“Then that’s his choice. But maybe this’ll make him realize just how stupid he’s being. Make him realize that Aito isn’t worth all the trouble he’s caused.” Akaashi continued, “What will be will be, but in the end, there’s nothing you could’ve done differently that would’ve changed this. You can’t control your feelings.”

Kuroo nodded a little, letting out another sigh as he stood up from the couch, “Thank you. Both of you..” He smiled a bit, “I don’t know what the hell I did to deserve you guys.”

“I have no clue either, you’re a shitty person,” Kenma’s lips pulled up into a smile. For the first time all day, Kuroo barked out a genuine laugh.

“And the moment is over,” Kuroo joked.

“Yes. Now go shower, you smell.” Akaashi smiled a bit, obviously relieved that Kuroo seemed to be feeling at least a little better, “And you’re not allowed to lock yourself up in your room when you’re done.”

“You guys suck,” Kuroo faked a pout, shaking his head as he walked into his room to grab a change of clothes and a towel. He didn’t want to admit it, but telling Akaashi and Kenma about what had happened had helped.

“You love us anyways,” Kenma called after him, soft laughter coming audibly from the living room as Kuroo stuck his hand out his bedroom door to flip him off.

~

“I’m not going to class,” Kuroo whined, pulling the blankets over his head when Kenma flicked on his light the next morning.

Last night had been a lot better than he’d expected; as promised, Akaashi and Kenma refused to let Kuroo sit in his room and pity himself. The three of them had ordered takeout and played random games on the switch for a few hours - Kuroo was forever going to brag about how much better he was than Akaashi at Smash Bros, but that wasn’t important. Eventually they’d all passed out on the couch, squished together on the shitty piece of furniture as some crappy action movie played in the background. Akaashi had made it clear that if he went back to his own dorm, he’d bitch Bokuto out for what happened; they all agreed that him staying over for the night was the best case scenario. Kuroo’d moved to his own bed sometime in the middle of the night when he’d gotten up to pee, passing out the second his head hit the pillow.

“Kuroo, you’re not sitting around and moping all day,” Kenma huffed, attempting to wrestle the blankets off of him.

“C’mon, at least give me one day!” He pouted, curling in on himself and bringing his pillow over his head when Kenma finally managed to pull the blanket off of him. He heard his roommate let out an annoyed huff.

“There’s no way I’m getting you out of bed right now, is there?”

“Not unless you plan to drag me to my lecture hall,” Kuroo’s voice was slightly muffled by the pillow, but it seemed Kenma understood him.

“Fine. You get one day, only because my class starts in twenty minutes and I don’t have the time for this. Tomorrow, I’ll get Daichi and Iwaizumi in here to  _ carry _ you to class if I need to,” Kenma threw the blanket back over Kuroo, walking towards the door.

“But tomorrow’s my birthday! You wouldn’t do that to me on my birthday!” Kuroo brought his head out from under his pillow, half sitting up as he watched Kenma open his bedroom door and flick off the light switch.

“Try me,” Kenma glanced over his shoulder, obviously trying to fight back an amused smile.

“Alright, alright, fine!” He groaned, flopping back on his bed. He assumed that Akaashi had already left for his classes, and a couple minutes later the sound of the dorm door closing told him that he was alone.

For a while he attempted to curl back up under his blankets and fall asleep again, but obviously that wasn’t happening. With a soft huff he forced himself to stand up, stifling a yawn with his hand as he walked out into the kitchen in search of food. The last of the takeout had been practically inhaled by Akaashi the night before, in the midst of his pouting about losing so many times in a row to Kenma and Kuroo, and for a second he considered leaving the dorm and going to the cafe so he didn’t have to cook. After a minute he dismissed the idea; he wasn’t in the mood to risk running into any of his friends.

Humming to himself, Kuroo pulled out a pack of bacon and some eggs. He sat himself up on the counter once the bacon was on the stove, scrolling through his phone. He half hoped to see a text from Bokuto or something apologizing for yesterday, or asking him to talk, but their texts were just as bare as they had been since Thursday. His only notifications were from the groupchat, a string of random conversations and probably a couple arguments that Kuroo didn’t bother to read through.

He’d made it clear the night before that he didn’t want anyone else to know about his and Bokuto’s fight, and Kenma and Akaashi had both agreed to keep quiet about it. He was sure everything would come to light eventually, and he’d have to explain the situation, but for now, he wanted to avoid it. They started practicing again on Tuesday, so at most Kuroo knew he had a few days, but it was better than no time at all. He was more worried about tomorrow than anything; Oikawa obviously had something planned for his birthday. There was no way in hell Bokuto was going to show up, Kuroo was sure of that much, so he could only hope the spiker came up with a good enough excuse for his absence that wouldn’t make everyone suspicious.

He managed to avoid moping for most of the day, distracting himself with random Netflix shows and movies after he’d finished eating. Akaashi came back to their dorm after his classes, a bag with a change of clothes and some toiletries in hand that he must’ve grabbed while Bokuto was in class. It seemed he had no intention of returning to his own dorm for at least another night, and as much as Kuroo didn’t want people picking sides, he was more than thankful for the support and company he provided. Kenma came back from his own lectures to see them both sitting on the couch, aggressively mashing the buttons on their switch controllers and staring intensely at the tv screen as they played Mario Kart.

“How long have you two been playing?” Kenma chuckled softly, dropping his bag by the door and moving to sit on the couch.

“No clue, couple hours?” Kuroo shrugged, throwing his hands up his victory as he took first place again, “Fuck yeah! Take that, loser!” He grinned, letting out a laugh when Akaashi’s only response was to punch him hard in the shoulder and try to shove him off the couch.

“Quit it! I swear, you two are like toddlers,” Kenma shook his head, an amused smile on his lips as he pulled his legs up to sit cross-legged on the couch, “Hand over one of the controllers, I wanna play too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is officially the last chapter of this story, it will definitely be up by the end of this week
> 
> as always, comments/kudos are always appreciated, and so are asks/msgs on my tumblr! ily all <3
> 
> *come yell at me on tumblr @kuidore!!!!*


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Birthdays, Parents, and Reconciliation

Kuroo woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon coming from the kitchen. With a stifled yawn he managed to make himself sit up, squinting in an attempt to block out some of the light streaming through his bedroom window. A quick glance at the clock told him it was a little after ten. The grumbling of his stomach was what finally got him to drag himself out of bed, grabbing his phone off the nightstand as he walked out into the kitchen.

“Damn. I was really hoping I’d get the chance to see Daichi and Iwaizumi drag you out of bed,” Kenma joked, looking up from his phone as he heard Kuroo’s bedroom door open.

“Sucks to be you,” He grinned a bit, sticking his tongue out at his roommate as he walked towards the kettle, leaning against the counter, “Whatcha making for breakfast?” Kuroo turned to look at Akaashi with a wide grin, watching as he absentmindedly flipped the bacon strips with a fork.

“Pancakes and bacon, you were out of eggs,” Akaashi commented, nearly stabbing Kuroo with a fork when he reached forward and stole a strip from the pan, “Fuck off, you’re going to burn yourself,”

“Right, I need to do groceries,” Kuroo muttered, more to himself than anything. He’d really slacked on the cooking lately; they’d been basically living off takeout, “And I didn’t burn myself, so it’s fine!” He took a bite of the half-cooked bacon to prove his point, ignoring Akaashi’s exasperated head shake.

“Sit down before I stab you with a fork,” Akaashi threatened, pointing the cutlery in Kuroo’s direction with a venomless glare.

“What, you don’t want any help with the food?” Kuroo feigned innocence, stirring some sugar into his drink. Akaashi just fixed him with another unimpressed look. He put his hands in in a show of surrender, grabbing his mug of tea and sitting down beside Kenma.

“Auntie texted me, said to tell you to call when you woke up,” Kenma commented, continuing to scroll through his phone, “They sent a package, but they want you to open it when you call them.”

“I’ll call ‘em after breakfast,” Kuroo stretched his arms above his head, scrolling through his own phone and replying to the ‘happy birthday’ texts he’d received from his friends. He also made a mental note to smash some cake in Oikawa’s face that night as he saw the annual ‘happy birthday’ post on his snapchat story. It was a photo of Kuroo in his first year, drunk off his ass and stuck in a trashcan, “I’m gonna kill him one day, I swear…”

“Oikawa?” Kenma raised an eyebrow, glancing at Kuroo’s phone, “Go look at Suga’s.”

“Are you serious?” He whined dramatically, shaking his head a bit as he scrolled through his snapchat friends in search of the former setter. He had to fight off a laugh when he saw the video; it was from last year on Halloween, when Kuroo had made the horrible mistake of trying to light off one of those huge 100-shot firecrackers inside of a pumpkin. The next post was a picture of Kuroo on the ground, covered in orange goop while red and orange sparks lit up the night sky.“I hate them both.”

“It could be worse; he could’ve posted one of the photos of you with singed bangs,” Kenma commented, fighting off a smile, “Oh wait, no. Nishinoya posted that one.”

“How many embarrassing pictures and videos do people have of you?” Akaashi raised an eyebrow, pulling three plates from the cupboards.

“A lot,” Kenma and Kuroo answered in unison.

“I don’t even want to see the one’s Yaku posted; he has all the ones from high school, those are the worst.” He rested his elbows on the counter, grinning when a plate of food was set down in front of him, “Looks good, thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Akaashi chuckled, pulling up a seat as they began to eat. Kuroo basically wolfed down the pancakes and bacon, setting his empty plate on the counter only a couple minutes later. It was his birthday, he could justify procrastinating on the dishes.

“Where’s the package? I’ll call my moms now before I forget,” Kuroo pulled out his phone as Kenma and Akaashi finished their food.

“I’ll go grab it,” Kenma stood up, making his way into his room before he came out with a large cardboard box and a red sparkly bag, “The box is theirs, the bag is mine and Akaashi’s.”

“You guys are already getting people joint presents?” Kuroo teased, grinning a bit as he took the presents.

“Shut up,” Akaashi and Kenma both grumbled, cheeks tinted a light pink. Kuroo just snickered a bit, pulling the cat-themed tissue paper out of the bag to look through it.

“Holy shit, are you serious?” He grinned widely, pulling out a shoebox from the bottom of the bag. He opened it, shaking his head a little as he pulled out the brand new red and black volleyball shoes.

“Your highschool ones are literally falling apart,” Kenma smiled a little, watching as Kuroo admired the shoes, “And we both know the coach’ll bitch at you if you wear regular running shoes.”

“There’s no way you guys got these after the game, you haven’t even left the apartment. Did you really buy them before I was officially on the team?” He raised an eyebrow.

“You were obviously going to make it,” Akaashi shrugged a bit, wrapping his hands around his mug of tea. Kuroo just laughed a bit, pulling out a t-shirt with a bad chemistry joke on it and a new pair of kneepads.

“Thank you guys, I love all of it,” Kuroo couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he put everything back into the bag a lot less neat than it’d originally been, setting it on the kitchen floor beside his stool. He pulled out his phone next, scrolling through until he found his Ma’s contact and hitting the facetime button. He barely had a chance to prop the phone up against his mug of coffee before his mom’s faces showed up on the screen, grinning widely.

“Happy birthday!” They both practically yelled in unison.

“Thank you guys,” Kuroo smiled, resting his elbows on the counter, “Kenma said you wanted me to open your present on facetime.”

“Obviously. We want to see your reaction,” His Ma grinned a bit, “Where is Kenma, is he there?”

“Yeah, he’s right here,” Kuroo tilted the phone a little to get Kenma in frame.

“Hi Aunties,” Kenma gave a small wave, smiling a bit.

“So’s his boyfriend,” Kuroo tacked on, his wide smile turning to a mischievous grin as he saw Kenma’s face turn a bright red, tilting the phone so his parents could see Akaashi.

“Boyfriend?” His mom squawked, eyes wide, “When did this happen?! Why weren’t we told?” She shook her head, pretending to be disappointed about not being privy to the information beforehand.   
“Okay wait, open the gift first! We can catch up after,” His Ma lightly whacked her wife’s arm, a soft smile on her face.

“Alright, alright,” Kuroo leaned his phone back against the mug, pulling the cardboard box into his lap and tearing off the tape. He grinned as he looked inside, pulling out a second, smaller box and setting it on the counter, “A mini espresso machine?”

“We figured it’d save you some money, considering how much coffee you drink,” His Ma grinned a bit, watching with a smile as her son pulled out the first gift.

“I don’t drink it that much!” Kuroo attempted to defend himself, but he immediately got four deadpan looks that made it quite obvious that he was fooling no one.

“You’re my son, you can’t possibly think you can lie that badly and get away with it,” His Mom teased, crossing her arms.

“Alright, fine. Thank you,” He grinned, pulling out the second item in the box; this one was a much thinner box, wrapped up with a little bow, “Oh god, I’m a little scared to see what this is.”

“Just open it, don’t be dramatic,” His Ma shook her head a bit, smile widening as Kuroo tore away the wrapping paper and immediately groaned. It was another photobook, but from the picture pasted on the cover, he was pretty sure he could already guess what kind of photos it would be full of.

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow, fighting off a grin at the photo on the front; it was the same one Oikawa had posted on his snapchat story, of him drunk and stuck in a trashcan.

“What?” His Mom feigned innocence, watching with glee as Kuroo flipped through the book. As expected, it was mostly embarrassing pictures of him, from when he was a kid to the present.

“How many of my friends did you beg for pictures for this?” He cackled a bit as he skimmed through the pages; there were a lot of pictures from his past couple years at University that he knew for a fact Oikawa had taken. Hell, there was even one of him from the day he had stolen Bokuto’s pants; he could only assume one of the demon barista’s had snapped it when he was too caught up in his embarrassment to notice the camera. He was standing beside a grinning Yaku, hands covering his face in an attempt to hide his shame. The sight of the photo made his stomach twist slightly, memories of his and Bokuto’s recent fight resurfacing, but he pushed the feelings away. He hadn’t mentioned a single thing to either of his Moms about Bokuto and all the shit that had gone down there, and his birthday call most definitely wasn’t the time to do it.

“No begging required, they were all more than happy to provide the photos,” His Ma laughed a bit.

“Well, nice to know I’ll always have the memories of my stupid decisions in university,” Kuroo joked, setting the album on the counter, “Thank you both. I love it,”

“There’s even room to add more in the back. You still have another year and a half at university to do dumb shit,” His mom grinned a bit. His damn parents knew him way too well.

He, Akaashi, and Kenma spent the next half hour seated around the kitchen island. After everyone had gotten their fill of looking through the photo album and laughing at the birthday boy, the conversation shifted drastically. Kuroo sat on the sidelines with a mischievous grin, watching in amusement as his parents grilled Kenma and Akaashi about their relationship until they were blushing like junior high girls about to confess.

“Well, now you’ve got two of the parents out of the way,” Kuroo joked once he had hung up with a final goodbye and a promise to come home for a visit as soon as exams were over. His parents had even managed to rope Akaashi into agreeing to go down to meet them in person.

“I’m almost scared to meet the other ones,” Akaashi joked, cheeks still bright red as he sipped his tea.

“You should be, they’re just as bad as mine are,” Kuroo snickered a bit, piling all his gifts into the cardboard box his moms had sent. He’d set up the espresso machine later; he was thankful he’d have a way to justify sleeping in a little later before his morning classes, not that the espresso machine would stop him from going to the on campus coffee shop. He couldn’t just leave Suga, Oikawa, and Asahi without entertainment during their shifts - what kind of friend would he be then?

“They’re not that bad,” Kenma huffed out, a small smile on his face. Obviously the fact that Kuroo’s parents approved of Akaashi (something they’d both voiced multiple times without shame) made him happy. Kuroo wasn’t being dramatic when he said he and Kenma were like siblings, and the approval of their respective best friend’s parents had always been important to both of them, “Speaking of, they sent a gift too. They said it should be here in a day or two, but they want you to call them too when it comes.”

“Maybe Akaashi’ll get to meet the second set of parents sooner than you thought,” Kuroo joked, standing up to put his gifts in his bedroom. He just snickered a bit when he heard Kenma grumble something under his breath about embarrassing roommates.

~

Kuroo spent the rest of the day in his classes, nerves beginning to build the closer it got to his party. He’d spun some story to Yaku about not feeling well as an excuse for why he’d missed class the previous day; he wasn’t technically lying, he just wasn’t being completely truthful, so he managed to get away with it without much questioning.

His biggest worry was Bokuto; he knew  _ someone _ would get suspicious when he, inevitably, didn’t show at Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s apartment that night. He could only hope that the spiker would give some kind of excuse, so the burden wouldn’t be on Kuroo to explain. He really didn’t want to sully the party with some stupid sob story. He’d been dumping enough of those on his friends lately.

He got back to the dorm a little over an hour before they were supposed to be at the apartment, busying himself with showering and getting ready in an attempt to avoid his own thoughts. A small part of him still hoped that Bokuto would show up anyways; that they’d be able to somehow reconcile their friendship. Each time, he reminded himself of how much of a dick he’d been on Saturday, and the voice in his head shut its mouth for a couple minutes. As much as Kenma and Akaashi had assured him that the argument had been inevitable and that he wasn’t the only one at fault, he still couldn’t shake off the guilt. It felt like the morning after Yamaguchi’s birthday party, except this time, he actually had something logical to feel shitty about. He still couldn’t get the expression on Bokuto’s face as he’d turned around and walked away out of his mind, chest twisting each time the wide-eyes filled with hurt flashed in his mind.

_ I’m sure Aito made him feel better. _

Kuroo gritted his teeth a bit, unable to stop the bitter thought from surfacing as he washed his face. He could only imagine the sort of things the asshole would have said about him when Bokuto ran to tell him about their fight; but hey, at least Kuroo now had a tangible reason to hate the guy. That didn’t exactly make him feel  _ better _ , but it made him feel like less of an asshole for disliking him right off the bat. With a huff he walked back into his bedroom, towel-drying his hair as he searched through his closet. He heard the sound of the dorm door opening as he pulled on his jeans, glancing at the clock. Kenma’s last class must’ve just ended. Akaashi had told them just to wait for him in the parking lot after his class, assuring them he didn’t have to come back to get ready.

Kuroo didn’t really see a point in getting ready either, not like he had anyone to impress; he was doing it solely to distract himself at that point, not that it was working too well. He pulled on a red long-sleeve just as Kenma knocked on his door.

“I’m ready to go whenever you are. Keiji’s still going to meet us in the parking lot,” His best friend stuck his head in the door.

“I’m good to go,” Kuroo sprayed himself with cologne on instinct, grabbing his phone and his keys off his desk. Kenma just nodded, making his way to the door to pull on his shoes and jacket. Kuroo followed after, locking the dorm door behind them before they began to walk towards the parking lot and towards his shitty car. A part of him didn’t really feel like going to the party, knowing that he’d probably be sitting and watching the door half the time to see if Bokuto ended up showing up. A much larger part of him wanted to just forget about the fight and get drunk with his friends for his birthday. He wasn’t going to let his emotions get in the way of his life anymore than they already had. Plus, Oikawa would probably murder him if he skipped out of his own birthday party.

He and Kenma climbed into his car, sitting and waiting for Akaashi to arrive. Kuroo absentmindedly hummed along to the pop song playing on the radio, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

“You think Bokuto’ll show up?” Kuroo broke the silence, asking the question against his better judgement. From the corner of his eye he saw Kenma turn to look at him, eyebrows furrowing slightly, “Nevermind, that’s a stupid question.” He chuckled a little, keeping his eyes trained on the dashboard. He’d need to get gas tomorrow morning..

“I don’t know, honestly.” Kenma answered anyways, leaning his head back against the seat, “I guess it depends on whether he realized how stupid he was being.”

Kuroo was thankful for the honesty, but he probably would’ve felt a little better if Kenma had just flat out told him that Bokuto showing up was completely out of the question. He’d rather not get his hopes up again, no matter how many scenarios had flown through his head of the two of them reconciling. Before the conversation could continue the back door opened, and a breathless Akaashi climbed into the backseat.   
“Sorry, Professor went a couple minutes later than he should have,” He explained, pulling on his seatbelt.

“It’s fine, it’s not even nine yet. We’ll be there in time,” Kuroo chuckled a bit, pulling out of the parking lot once Akaashi had closed the door. They drove in near silence, the sound of the radio and Kuroo’s barely audible humming the only noise in the car as they made their way to Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s apartment.

There were already quite a few people packed into the apartment when they stepped inside. Kuroo was basically tackled the second he stepped through the door by Hinata and Lev, both of them smelling heavily of alcohol.

“Jesus christ, how much have you two drank already?” Kuroo laughed a bit, attempting to detach the excitable first years from him with a grin.

“They went straight for the alcohol the second we showed up,” Kageyama commented from behind them.

“You two never learn,” Kuroo shook his head, feigning disappointment as he slipped off his shoes. Of course, two of the biggest lightweights were also two of the biggest drinkers.

“Kuroo!” Oikawa basically yelled at him, grinning as he stepped out of the kitchen, “Happy birthday! Here, open mine and Iwa-chan’s gift first!” He basically threw a bright blue bag at him, nearly whacking him in the head. Kuroo just barely managed to free his arm from Hinata’s grip in time to catch it.

“I feel like your excitement means I should be concerned about what’s in here,” Kuroo commented, walking towards the living room to sit down on the couch. Akaashi and Kenma followed after, sharing the small armchair.

“Quit whining and open it!” Oikawa pouted. Kuroo rolled his eyes a bit, pulling the tissue paper out of the bag. He pulled out a couple packages of edibles as well as a bottle of vape juice, but the real present seemed to be the black t-shirt stuffed at the bottom, obviously folded inside out.

“Oh god, what’s on the damn shirt?” Kuroo fought off a grin, pulling out the wad of fabric. Oikawa just shot him an innocent grin. He debated for a moment whether he wanted to burst out laughing or throw the bag at the brunet’s head when he flipped it right side in and saw what was printed on the front.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He cackled, turning the shirt so the rest of the group could see the picture; Kuroo’s mugshot from when he and Oikawa had gotten arrested breaking into the zoo, blown up on the front.

“Dammit, I wish I’d thought of that!” Suga huffed out a laugh when he saw the photo.

“I’m gonna seem like such an asshole, wearing a shirt with my own damn face on it,” Kuroo snickered a bit, shoving the gifts back into the bag and setting it behind the couch. Obviously he was going to wear it, it was fucking hilarious.

Kuroo spent almost an hour going through the rest of the gifts his friends had gotten him as everyone else filed into the apartment. He’d gotten various types of edibles and juice for his vape from almost everyone, along with some clothing. Suga and Daichi had bought him a grinder with a little cat face engraved on the top. Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Asahi had gotten him a new bike helmet to replace the old white one covered in scrapes from when he’d first learned to ride, and Yaku had bought a huge cat plushie that was obviously made to resemble him, with black bangs and as much of a smirk that a cartoon cat face could pull off. He’d gotten a set of chemistry-themed shot glasses and some new piercing studs from Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, and to top it all off he’d gotten about six bottles of alcohol from Terushima.

Kuroo said his thank yous to his friends, the gifts sitting in a neat pile behind the couch, before he stood up and made his way to the kitchen in search of alcohol. Every time the door had opened, he couldn’t help but glance towards the entryway, almost hoping to see that stupid head of spiked black and white hair over the crowd in the livingroom. Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Terushima ended up following him towards the kitchen, obviously in search of refills for their own drinks.

“Where’s Bo?” Terushima asked, leaning against the counter as he watched Kuroo pour himself a vodka cranberry,  _ very _ light on the cranberry,

“I dunno, he hasn’t been responding to any of my texts,” Oikawa commented, looking in Kuroo’s direction in search of some form of explanation. Kuroo mentally cursed the spiker for leaving him with the responsibility of coming up with an excuse.

“I haven’t talked to him all day,” Kuroo shrugged, taking a sip of his drink, “I think he mentioned he had some test coming up or something, maybe he’s just studying late?” Technically he wasn’t lying, as per usual; he just omitted the fact that he hadn’t talked to Bokuto in almost five days now, and that the ‘test’ he’d mentioned had been last week.

“He’s probably just running late,” Iwaizumi shrugged, cracking open a can of beer and taking a sip, “He has an evening class today, maybe it went late or something.”

Kuroo just nodded silently, taking another sip of his drink. He knew full well Bokuto wasn’t going to show; why the hell would he? But he really didn’t feel like reliving the argument once again, or detailing what had happened to each and every one of his friends like he knew he’d have to do if he came clean. So he just stayed quiet, hoping that the excuse would hold up long enough that by the time everyone realized Bokuto wasn’t coming, they’d be too drunk to care.

Kuroo moved back to the living room once he had his drink, plopping himself back down on the couch. Oikawa’s bong wasn’t out and he really didn’t feel like going digging around in the idiot’s room in search of it, so he reached behind the couch to grab one of the suckers that Oikawa had thrown in with his mugshot t-shirt.

“No smoking tonight?” Terushima joked, taking the seat beside Kuroo.

“I don’t feel like trying to find Tooru’s bong in his room, that thing’s a shitshow,” He joked, tearing open the package with his teeth and popping the edible in his mouth, “I’ll just stick to the thousands of edibles I got for my birthday,” He laughed around the sucker in his mouth, putting his feet up on the coffee table.

“Sounds like a safe plan,” Terushima grinned a bit, leaning against the arm of the couch and pulling his feet up to half-lay on the couch.

“How’d you like the gift from your moms?” Suga interjected, the wide grin on his face showing he was already fully aware of what he’d received.

“It was great, and on a side note, I hate you all,” He retorted, pulling the sucker out of his mouth as the group just cackled a bit.

“Wait I’m out of the loop, what did your parents get you?” Lev took his attention away from the keg Hinata was struggling to pour from, raising his eyebrows.

“They got me a photo album full of embarrassing pictures,” Kuroo chuckled, taking a gulp of his drink, “I didn’t look through all of them, but if you saw them on anyone’s story for my birthday, they’re probably in there.”

“Seriously?” Hinata’s face broke out into a grin, “Your moms are so cool! My parents would kill me if they saw any pictures of me doing stupid things when I was drunk!” The first year whined, attention fully taken away from the keg.

“Yeah, I think they’ve given up on trying to stop me from doing dumb shit.” He grinned a little, shaking his head, “They did their fair share of it in university. They just endlessly make fun of me for it once they find out.”

“Wait until I tell them the pool story,” Kenma commented, leaning into Akaashi’s side as he shot Kuroo a slight smile.

“Go ahead, they heard the Zoo story and just laughed at me and gave me a light lecture on not getting caught. And that time I  _ actually _ got arrested,” He grinned.   
“What’s the pool story?” Suga raised an eyebrow, looking between Kuroo and Kenma in search of some sort of explanation.

“The night of the frat party, Bo and I broke into the public pool by the library,” He explained, sticking the sucker back in his mouth, “Someone called the cops on us, we had to run and hide in an alley so we didn’t get arrested in our fuckin’ underwear.”

“And you didn’t invite me?!” Tanaka and Nishinoya spoke in almost perfect unison, seemingly torn between amusement and betrayal. Daichi just pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something that sounded insulting.

“Next time I break the law, you two’ll be the first ones I notify. Scout’s honour,” Kuroo grinned, putting a hand over his heart to punctuate his promise.

“Please don’t,” Asahi jumped in before either of his boyfriends could respond, already looking tired at just the idea of having to bail the two out of jail. Before anyone could ask for more information on the pool story, Oikawa came out carrying a huge cake (thankfully, without the candles lit this time).

“Anyone who starts singing is dead to me,” Kuroo commented as soon as the cake was set down in front of him. He grinned a bit as he saw the huge volleyball decal right in the middle of the dessert.

“It’s also a congratulation cake for getting on the team,” Oikawa grinned proudly. Kuroo let his smile fall off his face, looking between Oikawa and the cake in mock surprise.

“What are you talking about?” His eyebrows furrowed in feigned confusion. He was thankful he hadn’t actually told anyone besides Kenma and Akaashi what Sato’s decision had been yet. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of Kenma’s eyeroll, knowing exactly what Kuroo was doing, “I didn’t make the team, I thought you guys knew..”

“What?!” Oikawa basically screeched, eyes wide. Everyone else was silent, looking at Kuroo in various degrees of shock,“How? Why the hell would the coach not-”

“He’s joking, Tooru,” Kenma cut in, ending the joke early before Oikawa could have a heart attack or something. Kuroo’s expression immediately morphed back into a grin.

“Yeah, I’m totally fucking with you,” He laughed, putting his arms up to protect himself from the pillow Oikawa immediately hurled in his direction, “Oi, careful! You’ll hit the cake or something!”

“You’re such an ass!” Oikawa huffed out, punching Kuroo in the shoulder one more time for good measure before lighting the candles. The middle-blocker just laughed, leaning forward to blow out the candles before reaching for the knife.

The next hour consisted of the usual; everyone stuffed themselves into the apartment's tiny living room, gradually becoming more and more drunk. Kuroo did his best to pay attention to the conversation, eyes occasionally drawn to the door in the illogical hope it would open to reveal Bokuto, with some genuine excuse as to why he was late. The more time passed, the less likely it seemed, and by the time Nishinoya and Tanaka had started trying to goad Oikawa into his usual drunken rants, Kuroo needed a break.

“I’m gonna head out for a smoke and get some fresh air,” He commented to whoever was listening, earning a few hums in acknowledgement as he stood up. He threw away the bare lollipop stick on his way out, taking the stairs to the bottom floor of the apartment complex.

His breath was visible in the freezing air when he stepped out into the darkness, sitting down on the top step and pulling his vape from his jacket pocket. The silence was a startling contrast to the noise of the apartment; it would be peaceful, if his mind wasn’t going a thousand miles a minute.

_ So this is the end. _

He had still been holding onto the hope that Bokuto would show up last minute, even if it was just to keep up appearances with their friends. But as the vapour filled his lungs, sending a rush of nicotine to his head, it became very clear that that wasn’t going to happen. Bokuto’d made himself clear, if the radio silence over the past 24 hours hadn’t been enough to hammer the message through Kuroo’s thick skull. Whatever friendship they’d built, whatever it was they’d had, it was done for. All because Kuroo was a coward, and he’d let Aito swoop in like a vulture to steal Bokuto’s heart.

As much as he tried to shift the blame to Aito, internally insisting that it was the blond tutor’s fault that he and Bokuto had fallen out, subconsciously he knew that in the end it was no one’s fault but his own. Sure, the argument may have been inevitable, but things would never have even gotten that far if he’d just been able to stop being a pussy and tell Bokuto about his feelings.

They say hindsight is always 20/20, and Kuroo couldn’t help but wonder how the hell he’d been so blind. He should’ve told Bokuto as soon as Oikawa had forced him to figure out his feelings; his worries had been completely baseless, and in the end, things couldn’t possibly have ended up worse than they did. Sure, maybe he would’ve been rejected, and Bokuto might’ve ended up with Aito anyways, but at least he would’ve had that week before then to figure himself out. He would’ve had the time to take care of his feelings, to make them disappear. Maybe then, Aito wouldn’t’ve had any reason to dislike Kuroo, or to worry about he and Bokuto spending time together. He probably wouldn’t have gotten a relationship out of it, but he would’ve kept their friendship. And at this point, he wanted that more than anything; even if it wasn’t romantic, even if nothing ever happened for them, he just wanted Bokuto back in his life.

They’d only known each other for two and a half weeks, but it had felt like an eternity. It felt like he’d known Bokuto for years, and if this whole shitshow with Aito hadn’t’ve happened, Kuroo would bet they would’ve stayed friends for a long damn time. He felt like some cliche in a bad rom-com, sitting around and thinking about a man he barely knew.

_ That’s not true, though. _

Kuroo may not have known Bokuto for long, but saying he didn’t  _ know _ him was a complete lie. They’d had a mutual understanding of each other, something Kuroo still couldn’t explain now. Bokuto seemed to know him inside and out. He’d clearly shown some uncanny knack for figuring things out about Kuroo before he’d even consciously shown those parts of himself. Maybe he was being egotistical, but he felt like it was the same way; he’d noticed things about Bokuto that he was sure that Bokuto hadn’t even noticed himself. And there hadn’t been a single part of him that Kuroo didn’t immediately find a reason to love.

_ Love.. _

Kuroo’d steered clear of that word, even in his own thoughts. He didn’t know if he loved Bokuto or not, and he was pretty sure he’d never figure it out. But still, he could say for sure that there were plenty of parts of Bokuto he loved. His excitement over the smallest things, his competitiveness in absolutely everything, that stupid 1000 watt smile that made his insides twist whenever it was pointed in his direction, his dumb jokes that had always left them both gasping for air. What the hell was the point of avoiding it now? Whether or not it was love didn’t matter, the word he used wouldn’t change the situation. But Kuroo still didn’t want to say he loved Bokuto; it would make it that much harder to get over him, he was sure.

It hadn’t been Kuroo’s intention to sit outside wallowing in his own thoughts, but he couldn’t help it. He deserved to mourn the loss of one of his closest friends, didn’t he? It didn’t make him pathetic, even if it felt that way.

Kuroo sighed, taking another drag from his vape as he tipped his head back to look at the sky. It was cloudy, only a few stars barely visible thanks to the city’s light pollution. He internally debated whether he wanted to go back up to the party at all, but he knew he didn’t really have a choice. He’d give himself away immediately if he left now, and he was too wasted to drive himself home anyways. All he could do was try to enjoy the night, ignore his thoughts of Bokuto to address another day.

As the smoke unfurled from his lips, immediately dragged away by the cold wind, the sound of footsteps pulled Kuroo out of his thoughts. For a second he thought it was one of his friends coming to check on him, but from the corner of his eye he caught sight of a figure approaching from the direction of the parking lot. He moved to stand from his spot on the stairs so he wasn’t in the way, mouth opening in the beginnings of an apology to whoever it was, but he froze when the person stepped into the light of the apartment building.

“Hey…” Bokuto gave a soft greeting, stopping at the bottom of the steps. Kuroo just looked at him for a moment in shock, eyes wide; for a second he thought he was dreaming, or hallucinating.

“Uh… hi.” Kuroo finally managed to force the words from his mouth, stepping down from the stairs.  _ Nice opening line, moron. _

“Happy birthday,” Bokuto immediately shoved a small gift bag into his arms, eyes trained on the ground.

“Thanks..” Kuroo looked down at the bag in his hands, before looking back up to Bokuto. Obviously he had something else to say, but Kuroo had no idea what it was.

“Listen.. Can we talk?” Bokuto asked, finally bringing his eyes away from the ground to look at him. Kuroo noticed dark circles beneath his eyes that hadn’t been there on Saturday.

“Can’t it wait?” Kuroo repeated Bokuto’s words from Saturday in a half-assed attempt at a joke, but the look the spiker gave him told him that it wasn’t the time, “Sorry, yeah.. Yeah, we can talk.” He nodded a bit, sitting himself back down on the top step as he set the gift bag beside him. Bokuto stayed standing, hands stuffed in the pocket of his hoodie in a poor attempt to hide his fidgeting. It seemed he had no clue where to start, and Kuroo opened his mouth after a minute to start on the apology he’d been mentally rehearsing since Saturday, but he never got the chance.   
“I’m sorry I’m so late, I just… I didn’t know if you’d, y’know, want me here..” Bokuto started, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

“No, no, it’s alright.. Of course I want you here,” Kuroo answered awkwardly, running a hand through his hair, “I’m glad you came.”

“Oh,” Bokuto seemed to relax a little at the statement, obviously worried that Kuroo was still as pissed off as he’d been on Saturday, “Good..” There was an awkward silence between them for a moment, before Kuroo broke it in probably the worst way possible.

“Where’s Aito?” He raised an eyebrow, tone void of the usual venom it was when he spoke about Bokuto’s boyfriend. For once it was a genuine question; he didn’t want the fact that Bokuto showed up for his party to cause problems for the couple.

“I don’t know, probably in his dorm or something..” Bokuto answered, wringing his hands, “I broke up with him.”

Of all the answers he could’ve given, that one was the one Kuroo expected the least.

“What?” He raised his eyebrows, looking at Bokuto in shock as he continued to fidget.

“Yeah, I dumped him on Saturday. After…” The sentence trailed off, but Kuroo could pretty easily infer what had happened. Bokuto had dumped Aito after their fight.

“Oh..” Kuroo didn’t know what else to say. He was still processing the information that’d just been dumped on him. It seemed Bokuto didn’t really expect a full response, because he just continued talking when Kuroo didn’t say anything.

“Listen, I know I was an asshole. You were right, about everything,” Bokuto stuffed his hands back in his pockets, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he focused his gaze on the sidewalk again, “But I swear, I never was trying to  _ choose _ Aito over you. I’m sorry, I just-”

“Bo, it’s okay,” Kuroo cut him off, “I know it must’ve been hard, having him tell you… what he told you. I’m not mad, I knew it would make things weird, that was why I didn’t want to tell you,” He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he took another drag from his vape, “I just.. If we can just forget-”

“No!” Bokuto interjected, looking back to Kuroo with wide eyes, “No, I.. I don’t want to forget about it. Look, Aito was an asshole, and I let him get in the way of our friendship all because he was jealous, and I’m a total dick for doing that. I want to explain myself, I don’t want to just forget it and pretend nothing happened.” Kuroo was a little taken aback by the declaration, but he just nodded a bit.   
“Okay..” He agreed, leaning his weight back on his hands and looking at Bokuto.

“The reason he was so jealous when he realized you had feelings for me..” He paused, taking a deep breath seemingly in preparation, “was because he was worried that I liked you back.”

“Huh?” Kuroo couldn’t help but scoff a little at that, eyebrows furrowing in confusion, “Why the hell would-”

“He was right.” Bokuto interrupted him again, “He was completely right, and I hadn’t realized it but once he said something, it was like.. I dunno, everything just sort of made sense. It was the reason I felt so  _ weird  _ when I found out about you and Terushima. I was jealous, but I didn’t even put the pieces together. It wasn’t until Thursday after we left the coffee shop when I finally noticed it. Aito said something about me acting jealous, and he accused me of returning your feelings, and I just… I dunno, I thought about it that night and I panicked! Aito and I were sort of together, and when he accused me of liking you more than I liked him, I felt guilty. So I ignored you, thinking that maybe taking a break from hanging out would help me… figure things out, but it just made me feel worse.”

Kuroo was shocked into silence, eyes wide as he stared at Bokuto.  _ He… likes me back? _ It felt like something had completely shifted in Kuroo’s mind, and everything suddenly made a lot more sense. Bokuto had just done exactly what  _ Kuroo _ had tried to do when he found out about Aito; he tried to give himself time to figure things out, and the only way he could do that was by avoiding him. Kuroo felt like a huge hypocrite for being so frustrated, but before he could voice any of his thoughts, Bokuto continued his rambling.

“After you confronted me about it, I realized the reason I felt guilty wasn’t because I liked you. I didn’t feel like I was betraying Aito, I felt like I was betraying  _ you _ by being with someone else. The same way you told me you felt guilty about Terushima. I was being just as fucking dense as you said I was, because I thought that ignoring you would somehow make things better,” Bokuto took in a deep breath, attempting to collect himself, “But it didn’t. It just made me feel worse, I missed talking to you and I missed hanging out with you and every single time I was doing anything with Aito, I couldn’t help but wish that I was spending time with you instead. And I felt so shitty because - because I’d been  _ ignoring you _ -”

“Kou,” Kuroo interrupted the watery ranting when he was no longer too shocked to speak, standing up from his place on the steps, “Shut up for a second, alright?” He let out a soft laugh, a small smile pulling at his lips. His chest felt like it was going to explode, heart beating in his ears as he stepped down to stand in front of Bokuto, “I’m not mad at you, alright? I understand.. I tried doing the same thing, when I found out about Aito. I was just really, really bad at it.”

“You did?” Bokuto’s eyes were shining with unshed tears, the light from the apartment building making them glow a bright gold as he looked up at Kuroo.

“Yeah.. I felt bad, having feelings for you when you were with someone else. You were so  _ happy _ about Aito, I didn’t want to ruin that,” His voice was soft, and it was taking all his self control not to grab Bokuto and kiss him. But this was a conversation they had to have; like Bokuto said, they couldn’t just move on and pretend like nothing happened, especially not after what Kuroo’d just been told.

“Still, I was such an ass, especially after I knew that you had feelings for me too. I know you probably don’t forgive me, and you probably think I’m a horrible person-”

“Kou, I’m  _ not mad _ .” Kuroo cut him off, cupping his cheeks and forcing Bokuto to look at him. There was a stinging feeling beginning to form behind his eyes, a result of all the unchecked emotions running rampant in his chest, but he just tried to ignore it, “Get it through your head, idiot. I’m not mad. I was hurt, because I thought you chose Aito over me. I was frustrated because I didn’t know how to fix things, but I wasn’t mad. I let my emotions get out of hand, and I said things I shouldn’t’ve on Saturday. But I’m not mad at you. I probably wouldn’t have handled it much better,” He let out a watery laugh, a small smile pulling at his lips as Bokuto stared up at him.

“Promise?” Bokuto brought a hand up to his own face, covering Kuroo’s as he sniffled a bit.

“Yes, I promise,” He laughed a bit, looking down at the ground for a moment before he looked back to Bokuto’s face, “I just.. Can’t believe you liked me back.”

“Me neither, I have pretty bad taste,” Bokuto joked, a wide grin spreading across his face. Kuroo burst out laughing, bringing his hands off the other’s face to shove him in the shoulder.

“Don’t start being an asshole now!” Kuroo whined, wiping away the tears that had started to form in his eyes.

“So can we.. Start over? Stop being idiots about our feelings?” Bokuto asked, biting his lip as if worried that Kuroo would say no and reject him. As if he’d be that much of a moron after all that’d happened.

“I don’t want to start over,” Kuroo retorted, “But I’m more than happy to stop being an idiot. If that’s what you want.”

“Maybe don’t  _ completely _ stop being an idiot,” Bokuto grinned widely, whatever doubts he’d had seeming to dissipate, “I guess I kinda like that about you. But about your feelings.. I think I could deal with that.”

“Good. I don’t think I could stop being an idiot if I tried,” He laughed a bit, “So.. are we a thing now?”

“I mean… If you want to be?”

“Of course I want to be, you moron,” Kuroo grinned widely, “I haven’t spent the last two weeks wallowing in my damn feelings because I  _ didn’t _ want you.”

“I guess that was a pretty stupid question,” Bokuto chuckled to himself, reaching up to wrap his arms around Kuroo’s neck. He got the message loud and clear, leaning down a moment later to press their lips together the same way he’d been aching to do for what felt like an eternity.

The kiss was soft, and Bokuto reciprocated immediately, his arms wrapping around Kuroo’s neck to pull him closer. Their smiles got in the way a little, but he didn’t think he could stop grinning even if he wanted to. Kuroo felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest as his arms went around Bokuto’s waist, drinking in the feeling of the spiker’s lips as if he was dying of dehydration. The cold air was still whipping against his face, and he felt like he was going to burst into tears, but in that moment he couldn’t care less. He didn’t think he’d ever felt warmer in his entire life. All the times he'd imagined the feel of Bokuto’s lips against his own, and not a single one of them even compared to the real thing. When they finally pulled away, Kuroo didn’t even want to open his eyes in fear that Bokuto would suddenly disappear.

When he finally did, he was content to stand in the night’s silence, outwardly admiring Bokuto’s features lit up by the light of the apartment building and the moon. He would have been more than happy to stand there forever, burning the image of Bokuto’s grinning face into his memory until it was all he saw when he closed his eyes. But at the moment, what he truly wanted was to lean back in and lose himself in the feeling of the spiker's lips again.

“Quit looking at me like that,” Bokuto muttered, leaning his head forward to rest his forehead on Kuroo’s shoulder, seemingly embarrassed by the attention.

“Not a chance. I like the view,” He teased, laughing as Bokuto hit him in the shoulder.

“God, you’re so fuckin’ corny,” He snickered a bit, finally pulling his face away from Kuroo’s shoulder. Their faces were only a couple inches apart, bodies pressed flush against each other, but it still wasn’t enough. Kuroo knew they could be wrapped around each other from head to toe, and a small part of him would still ache with the need to be closer.

“Shut up, you love it,” He murmured, leaning forward to rest their foreheads together with a wide smile. Bokuto let out a soft laugh, his fingers carding through the short hairs at the nape of Kuroo’s neck.

“Yeah, maybe I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the end. of the main story, obviously i definitely have a couple plans for some other oneshots about these idiots. i love them too much to just write one
> 
> i hope you guys enjoyed the story, and i hope you guys liked the ending. this is by far the longest chapter ive written, and this is the first fanficton i started and actually finished, so i hope that the end was worth the ride. as always, any asks/msgs on tumblr, and kudos/comments on this story are very, very appreciated. and if there's anything u want to see in a oneshot, or even if theres another story or oneshot u really want to see, im always open to prompts and stuff through tumblr
> 
> thank u all for the support on this story, it was really what kept me inspired and kept away the writers block these past couple months, and i hope i didn't disappoint anyone with the ending
> 
> come yell at me on tumblr @kuidore, and thank u all again <3


End file.
